SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 8/10/2021 Rangers 1219204 Ducks sign Max Comtois, Max Jones and Josh Mahura to 1219229 Rangers agree to historic contract with Igor Shesterkin new contracts 1219230 Rangers sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year deal 1219231 Why former Ranger Dominic Moore has such a passion for table tennis and charity 1219205 Coyotes' preseason features former Pacific/West Division opponents 1219232 Ottawa Senators reach an ECHL agreement with the Bruins Gladiators for the upcoming season 1219206 Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy named to Team Canada’s coaching 1219233 Senators organizational depth chart: A comprehensive staff for 2022 Olympics guide for the present and future at every position 1219207 Bruins Sign 2021 First Rd. Pick Lysell To Three-Year Entry-Level Deal Flyers 1219208 ’ Cassidy Named To Team Canada Olympic 1219234 The Flyers bet on Carter Hart’s upside, sign him to a Staff 3-year contract extension 1219235 How the rebuilt Flyers might look after their flurry of summer moves | On the Fly 1219209 DraftKings, FanDuel and others team up with Yankees, 1219236 Carson Wentz, Ben Simmons, Mickey Moniak, more: This Bills, Sabres in New York mobile betting bid is Philly’s era of missed opportunity 1219210 With a 10-year playoff drought, have the Sabres hit rock 1219237 Flyers give Carter Hart new three-year contract bottom? 1219238 Hart smiling about much more than just the money on his new contract Flames 1219239 Just ahead of his birthday, Hart has his new contract with 1219211 Kylington re-ups with Flames for one year Flyers Penguins 1219212 Chicago Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray 1219240 leaving Penguins broadcast booth announces he has cancer 1219241 Ron Cook: To Doc Emrick, retiring legend Mike Lange will 1219213 Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray announces he has be ‘a Pittsburgher’ forever cancer 1219242 Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 1219214 Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray diagnosed with 1219243 Mike Lange has just left the building: Hockey royalty cancer salutes the Penguins’ retiring broadcasting legend 1219215 Blackhawks sign Brandon Hagel to three-year extension 1219244 Marshall: Is Brock McGinn really a one-to-one Brandon Tanev replacement in Penguins’ bottom six? 1219245 Oh No Eddie Spaghetti, Mike Lange Leaves Penguins 1219216 Blue Jackets re-sign defenseman Andrew Peeke with Play-by-Play two-year contract 1219246 Former Penguins as Free Agents: Who Signed, Who is Still Unemployed 1219217 Red Wings' draft pick Pasquale Zito ready to return to ice after lost season 1219247 Sharks’ goalie guru expects ‘healthy competition’ between 1219218 Former Red Wings assistant’s rise to WMU hockey coach James Reimer and Adin Hill part of 11-year journey 1219248 Bader Explains Why Sharks Have Top-5 Prospects Pool 1219219 Detroit Red Wings re-sign RFA center Chase Pearson Oilers 1219249 Face of the Kraken: Matthew Beniers’ journey has him 1219220 Stuart Skinner to continue development with Edmonton primed to be Seattle’s future Oilers 1219221 Win or lose, these Oilers are built in Ken Holland’s image 1219250 Lightning’s Ross Colton settles with team ahead of arbitration hearing 1219222 Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King signs name, image and 1219251 Lightning’s Jon Cooper to coach Team Canada in Beijing likeness deal with Florida Panthers Winter Olympics 1219223 FHN Today: Florida Panthers sign a QB in D’Eriq King Kings 1219252 Lots of talent for Team Canada bosses to choose from 1219224 Touching Greatness – Book in Review 1219259 Vancouver Canucks sign defenceman Juolevi to one-year 1219225 Pressure mounts in Kirill Kaprizov talks with Wild as KHL extension threat is heightened 1219260 How Olli Juolevi’s league-minimum, 1-year deal impacts the third-pair training camp battle 1219226 Predators roster projection: What their opening-night lineup could (and should) look like 1219227 Islanders' named an assistant coach for Canada's Olympic team in 2022 1219228 Ovechkin Goes Digital, Nilsson Retires & More 1219253 2 Golden Knights coaches named to Canada’s Olympic staff 1219254 Golden Knights’ Pete DeBoer named Team Canada assistant coach for 2022 Olympics 1219255 Pete DeBoer Named Olympics Assistant for Team Canada 1219256 Capitals re-sign Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $2 million deal 1219257 The pressure is on Caps' Samsonov as he re-signs for 1 year 1219258 What was the worst offseason move in the Metropolitan Division? Websites 1219261 The Athletic / NHL Draft 2022 top prospects: Standouts from the 1219262 TSN.CA / Are the Sens solid enough in for next season? 1219263 USA TODAY / Chicago Blackhawks' radio color analyst Troy Murray diagnosed with cancer SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1219204 Anaheim Ducks

Ducks sign Max Comtois, Max Jones and Josh Mahura to new contracts

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | [email protected] | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED: August 9, 2021 at 11:10 a.m. | UPDATED: August 9, 2021 at 12:23 p.m.

The Ducks signed left wings Max Comtois and Max Jones and defenseman Josh Mahura to multi-year contracts Monday, locking up their final three restricted free agents more than six weeks before the start of training camp next month at Great Park Ice in Irvine.

Comtois, 22, was rewarded with a new two-year contract that carries an average annual value (AAV) of $2,037,500, after he led the Ducks with 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games last season. He was the second- youngest player to lead the Ducks in scoring behind a 20-year-old Paul Kariya in 1994-95.

Jones, 23, earned a three-year deal with an AAV of $1,295,000. Mahura, 23, received a two-year contract with an AAV of $750,000, the first season of which is a two-way deal. He’ll make a guaranteed $120,000 whether he plays with the Ducks or with their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls, this coming season.

Now, about signing unrestricted free agents to bolster the Ducks’ roster after a second-to-last finish in the NHL’s overall standings in the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, well, those moves aren’t likely to happen. Several capable veterans around the league remain unsigned, but the Ducks aren’t interested.

General manager Bob Murray is believed to be focused on trades that will break up the Ducks’ veteran corps of players while netting a return of effective players in the 19- to 24-year-old range. Above all, Murray doesn’t wish to part with prospects such as defenseman Jamie Drysdale or forward Trevor Zegras.

Jack Eichel, the Buffalo Sabres’ 24-year-old center, would fit the bill nicely. But Murray’s unwillingness to trade Drysdale and/or Zegras to complete any trade has led to a stalemate. Murray wants to add players to play alongside Drysdale and Zegras rather than to use them as trade chips.

Comtois, Jones and Mahura also are considered important pillars of Murray’s rebuilding project, three youthful players who have the potential to form a new corps of veterans as the Ducks attempt to regain elite status in a league that’s passed them by over the past three seasons.

The Ducks’ 17-30-9 record last season was better than only the Sabres’ 15-34-7 mark in the 31-team league, which expanded to 32 with the summertime addition of the Seattle Kraken. Additionally, the Ducks’ points percentage of .384 was the worst in the franchise’s history, which dates to its expansion season of 1993-94.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219205 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes' preseason features former Pacific/West Division opponents

José M. Romero

Arizona Republic

In January of this year, the Coyotes played preseason games against themselves, intrasquad scrimmages at night in an empty but operational Gila River Arena as the team tried to simulate an actual game-night environment as best it could.

But full 82-game schedules preceded by a slate of exhibition games in front of fans are back, and the upcoming preseason will see the Coyotes play former opponents in the Pacific Division after Arizona was moved to the Central with the arrival of the expansion Seattle Kraken.

The Coyotes won't be trekking north to western Canada for any preseason games, as they have done in years past. The travel will be short, as Arizona currently has five preseason games scheduled for this September and October against the , Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights.

All three teams were part of the Honda West Division with the Coyotes set up for the condensed 2020-21 regular season, that saw the Coyotes play every team eight times.

The preseason slate comes after an NHL rookie showcase being hosted by the Coyotes, and the team's preseason training camp.

A sixth Coyotes preseason game is possible and details are being worked out. The Coyotes open the regular season on Oct. 14 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219206 Boston Bruins

Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy named to Team Canada’s coaching staff for 2022 Olympics

By Matt Porter Globe Staff

Updated August 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy will be a part of the Beijing Olympics in February as a Team Canada assistant coach.

Hockey Canada on Monday named Cassidy, 56, an assistant on the staff of Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. His fellow assistants are Peter DeBoer (Vegas) and Barry Trotz (New York Islanders).

Cassidy joins his Boston boss, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, who is an assistant GM for the Canadians.

Cassidy, entering his sixth season behind the Bruins’ bench (194-82-41), will return to China for the first time since coaching his team in two exhibition games against Calgary in September 2018, a trip that included games in Shenzhen and Beijing, and for Cassidy and his Bruins staff, a side trip to Hong Kong that was nearly impacted by a super typhoon.

The Beijing Olympics run Feb. 3-20. Hockey games are held at the Wukesong Sports Center.

Cassidy, a defenseman by trade, played for Team Canada at the 1984 World Junior Championship and on the 1986-87 national team. Born in Ottawa, he was sworn in as a US citizen in October 2020. He said in March that Team Canada had not contacted him about the upcoming Winter Games, but he would gladly serve if asked.

“I think it would be an honor to coach in the Olympics,” he said at the time. “For Canada, obviously. And I just became a US citizen, but if it meant being on the US side, I would certainly do it.”

Assuming the NHL sticks with its stated goal of attending the Games, Cassidy would coach Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, longtime Team Canada mainstays, for the first time internationally. He could face fellow Bruins Charlie McAvoy (US) and David Pastrnak (Czech Republic; also likely to select David Krejci).

Bruins sign Lysell, Greenway

The Bruins announced that they have signed first-round pick Fabian Lysell to a three-year entry-level contract with an annual cap hit of $925,000. The forward was selected by the Bruins with the 21st pick of the 2021 draft.

“The Bruins are excited to have signed Fabian to his first NHL contract,” said Sweeney. “Fabian is a talented young player, and we look forward to working with Fabian throughout the development process.”

The team also signed defenseman J.D. Greenway to a two-year AHL contract. Greenway, a University of Maine product and brother of Minnesota forward Jordan Greenway (Boston University), attended Bruins development camp last week.

Local street hockey clinics set

The Bruins, in partnership with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, will host four local Willie O’Ree Street Hockey Clinics beginning Tuesday, August 10, at 3 p.m. at Marcella Playground in Roxbury.

The hour-long clinics will provide instruction to local youth on the fundamentals of hockey and will conclude with a scrimmage played by all participants. The clinics will be coached by Bruins alumni, a youth development team and Boston Parks and Recreation staffers.

The Bruins will host three other 3 p.m. clinics: Aug. 17 at DeFilippo Playground in Boston; Aug. 24 at Noyes Park in East Boston; and Aug. 31 at Almont-Hunt Park in Mattapan.

Boston Globe LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219207 Boston Bruins

Bruins Sign 2021 First Rd. Pick Lysell To Three-Year Entry-Level Deal

Published 16 hours ago on August 9, 2021

By Jimmy Murphy

The Boston Bruins have locked up their 2021 first round pick Fabian Lysell.

Less than a month after the Boston Bruins drafted speedy and skilled 18- year-old Swedish winger with the 21st overall pick at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft on July 23, a report surfaced out of Sweden Monday that the team had signed Lysell to an entry-level contract. Later in the day the Bruins confirmed the reports and announced they signed Lysell to three-year contract with an AAV of 925,000.

Stick tap to Friend of BHN, CEO of BNG Productions, and host the Black and Gold Pod for translating the original report to English here:

Per Johan Svensson (@MrMadhawk) first round selection in the 2021 #NHLDraft Fabian Lysell has signed an entry-level deal with the #NHLBruins and has left the SHL Lulea club for the smaller sheets in North America.

The flashy 5-foot-11, 172-pound forward had two goals and three points in 26 games for Lulea in the Swedish Elite League but shined at the recent Under 18’s with three goals and nine points in seven games for Sweden.

In the end – unlike in 2015 when they passed on current Mathew Barzal due to attitude issues – the Boston Bruins decided that Lysell’s game- breaking skill was simply too much to let immaturity get in the way.

“[Lysell] has the speed, he has the skill, he has the ability to shoot the puck past the goaltender,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney said after the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. “And some game-breaking ability that was hard for us to pass up.”

On the night he was drafted by the Boston Bruins, Lysell described himself as ‘a dynamic’ player.

“I think I’m a dynamic player,” he said. “I like to challenge opponents with pace, and I like to be in those dangerous scoring areas.”

Lysell was not able to participate in the recent Boston Bruins Development camp because at the time camp began a week ago, he had not yet been vaccinated against COVID. It is not known if the Swedish prospect has since received a COVID vaccination shot. If he has, one would have to assume that he will take part in training camp for the Boston Bruins next month.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219208 Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins’ Cassidy Named To Team Canada Olympic Staff

Published 16 hours ago on August 9, 2021

By Joe Haggerty

Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy made it abundantly clear earlier this season that he wanted to coach in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was certainly the right time for the 56-year- old B’s bench boss entering his sixth season behind the Boston bench with five playoff berths, a Jack Adams Award and a President’s Trophy on his resume while guiding the Black and Gold.

Cassidy was so enthusiastic about being a part of this winter’s Olympic games, provided the NHL finds an agreement to participate and ends up going over to China, to the point that he was willing to utilize his dual citizenship to coach for either Team USA or Team Canada.

“I think it would be an honor to coach in the Olympics,” said Cassidy, who became a US citizen last October, earlier this season during a Zoom call with Bruins reporters. “For Canada, obviously. But if it meant being on the US side, I would certainly do it [too].

“Listen, I love the game, and I like being around the best players in the world. That’s my perspective on it. If I was able to pick and choose, I’d have a little more allegiance to Canada, because I spent the majority of my life as a Canadian.”

But at the end of the day, an assistant coach’s spot on head coach Jon Cooper’s staff was the most logical fit given that Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney is part of the management group, and that both Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are expected to both be on the roster. Clearly, Team Canada will also utilize Cassidy’s innovative hockey mind, his ability to design a dangerous power play and his experience coaching in the pros over the last 20 plus years. Cassidy will be joined by Pete DeBoer and Barry Trotz on the Team Canada coaching staff headed over to China when the NHL regular season goes on hiatus during the month of February.

“My son said: “Dad you have an all-star team as a coaching staff.”

“We are very excited to introduce the members of Canada’s coaching staff for the 2022 Winter Olympics, as each individual brings a tremendous amount of experience that will benefit our team if NHL players are able to participate in Beijing,” said CEO of Tom Renney. “Under the leadership of champion Jon Cooper, and with the contributions of this very skilled coaching staff, we are thrilled to have them lead us at the Olympics and represent our country with pride as they build a team that will compete for a gold medal.”

Cassidy’s resume speaks for itself as he’s led the Black and Gold to the in each of his five seasons as the B’s bench boss and has won the Jack Adams while posting a 194-82-41 regular season record (.677 points percentage) during his time in Boston.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219209 Buffalo Sabres Another consortium in the process is said to include Caesars and Wynn. Scientific Games is said to be in a separate group, as well, with a fourth group potentially including Fanatics and Penn National Gaming. None of DraftKings, FanDuel and others team up with Yankees, Bills, Sabres in the arrangements, however, are permanent at this point. If a group does New York mobile betting bid not win, nothing prohibits some musical chairs, where the sports teams could pair up with other operators and providers based on the results of the bids.

By Evan Drellich Mobile sports betting was legalized in New York in April. Applicants are to be selected in December, which means mobile sports betting could go Aug 9, 2021 live in early 2022.

“In New York, the RFA for mobile sports betting was issued in July and Monday marked a major deadline in the march toward mobile sports we are prepared to respond in a fulsome and timely manner,” DraftKings betting in New York State, with applications due for companies hoping to CEO Jason Robins said on an earnings call Friday. “We look forward to get in on the action. At least one supergroup has been working together the potential of offering mobile sports betting in New York.” in the bidding process: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Bally’s, The In December, Yankees president Randy Levine publicly pushed for the Seneca Nation, New York Yankees, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, state to legalize sports betting. NYCFC and the YES Network are all part of one consortium, multiple people with knowledge of the group’s discussions told The Athletic. “The City needs the State’s help to push for and pass laws that other states are already using to pay for budget shortfalls,” Levine wrote in a “It’s basically a dream-team bid that has the largest potential customer column for Empire Report. “Mobile sports betting can also help the base you could ever hope for: the three largest online sports betting restaurant and hospitality industry generate revenues.” companies along with signature professional sports franchises,” said Daniel Wallach, a sports betting attorney who is a former contributor to The Athletic, when told of the alignment. “You combine those entities, and it’s the largest possible base of sports users. The key here is The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 customer acquisition. … It guarantees a super-sized customer base from day one, and that will definitely get the attention of the gaming commission.”

The Yankees own part of YES Network as well as NYCFC, and Pegula Sports and Entertainment owns both the Bills and Sabres. Technically, the bids due Monday are led by the companies hoping to become what’s called a “platform provider.”

“An operator is the consumer facing mobile app, i.e. DraftKings, or PointsBet,” said Kevin Vela, partner at Vela Wood law firm, which has a specialty in sports and gaming. “A platform provider is the underlying tech that powers the app. Sometimes the two companies are the same, but some operators (like casinos) white label the underlying tech to power the betting app.”

Teams could make gains in a variety of ways. Besides the direct financial benefits of a business arrangement, they would be engaging fans who enjoy the sport through betting and creating potential cross-promotional broadcast opportunities as well.

“Teams want to control the entire fan experience, pre-game and in-game betting are part of that,” Vela said. “The teams already have a good sized database of fans, many of whom fit squarely into the sports betting demographic. Why not find another way to capitalize on that?”

Of course, a close association with gambling could be a turn-off for some fans too. The sport historically has had dramatic controversies surrounding gambling, a la the Black Sox and Pete Rose, but the winds in management have changed.

Down the road, the sports teams involved could have interest in opening sports books, as the Chicago Cubs are doing in conjunction with DraftKings. “Once you get a license and you know where you are, then you go to a lottery commission and apply for a sports book,” one source involved in the New York process said. The Yankees, multiple sources said, have their eye on such a development, but it would be many steps into the future.

The New York State Gaming Commission later this year is to select a minimum of two platform providers and four operators.

“Certainly a bid that’s fronted by DraftKings and FanDuel has immediate appeal for several reasons,” Wallach said. “If the primary objective of the New York State Gaming Commission is to maximize revenues for the state, the two companies that can bring the largest number of users being part of the same bid is especially appealing.”

DraftKings’ and FanDuel’s success in the sports betting space in New Jersey, Wallach said, is in part due to users in New York who cross state lines to place bets.

“They begin with a built-in user base advantage that gives them a leg up in New York State,” Wallach said. 1219210 Buffalo Sabres 1,776

TEAM GOALS AGAINST

With a 10-year playoff drought, have the Sabres hit rock bottom? Bruins

1,838

By John Vogl Senators

Aug 9, 2021 2,265

Sabres

Is this rock bottom? 2,277

Aside from Jack Eichel inquiries, it’s the question among Sabres fans. Though the Sabres at least had company digging pucks out of their net They’ve witnessed an unfathomable fall from grace during the past — Ottawa allowed just 12 fewer goals — no one has failed to light the decade. They’ve been forced to view unwatchable games featuring lamp like Buffalo. It was 77 goals behind second-worst New Jersey and uninterested players. An organization that almost never missed the 592 behind the Penguins. You could transfer Alex Ovechkin’s 429 goals playoffs hasn’t even played a meaningful regular-season game since the in the past decade to Buffalo and it still wouldn’t get anywhere near iPhone 4 was new. Pittsburgh.

And that’s just the hockey side. Off the ice, there have been ugly The numbers say this is undoubtedly rock bottom for Sabres hockey breakups, embarrassing organizational missteps, too many firings to fans. A reminder: They have a .432 points percentage during the past count and rising costs with falling ticket sales. decade. The worst pre-Pegula decade was 1986-87 through 1995-96, when they had a .508 points percentage. Those teams were 346-334 So, is this rock bottom? with 98 ties while outscoring opponents 2,715-2,633.

For the Buffalo Sabres, yes. For any NHL franchise? They didn’t have the benefit of shootout wins, either. Buffalo had 346 Well … regulation and overtime victories from 1986-87 through 1995-96. It has just 230 regulation and overtime wins this decade, plus another 45 in the Buffalo has tied the league’s longest playoff drought at 10 years. To breakaway challenge. determine if this is indeed rock bottom, we looked at every 10-year span for every NHL franchise dating to World War II. For example, that’s 1942- For our exercise in determining the rockiest of bottoms, we’ll stick with 43 through 1951-52 for the Rangers along with 1943-44 through 1952-53 points percentage because all teams played under whatever rules the for the Rangers. It’s 2000-01 to 2010-11 for the Blue Jackets (an 11-year NHL instituted. span because the lockout deprived them of one season) along with 2011- Believe it or not, there are fan bases who’ve had rougher decades than 12 to 2020-21 for Columbus. Buffalo, at least in terms of on-ice product. Here are the low points for And, of course, 2011-12 through 2020-21 for the Sabres. They’ve each team that fell below the Sabres’ .432 points percentage. established quite the baseline for the bottom. The Sabres were by far the Before 1967 expansion worst team of the last decade. Here’s how they stack up against Arizona, which was second worst. TEAM POINTS PCT. W-L-T YEARS

TEAM POINTS PCT. WINS LOSSES OTL Blackhawks

Coyotes 0.345

0.485 180-391-109

314 1947-48 to 1956-57

337 Bruins

97 0.371

Sabres 208-388-104

0.432 1957-58 to 1966-67

275 Rangers

377 0.384

95 173-310-107

The Sabres had 39 fewer wins than the Coyotes. They had 172 fewer 1942-43 to 1951-52 than Pittsburgh, which led the last decade with 447 victories. If the Sabres kept the same pace and the Penguins didn’t win another game, Three of the teams had their moments as punching bags Buffalo wouldn’t catch them until 2027, which is more than six seasons before the league grew. Unlike the Sabres, they still made the playoffs. away. Chicago made the 1953 postseason during its decade to forget. The It’s just as bad in the goal columns. The Sabres scored the fewest and Rangers had two appearances, including a seven-game loss to Detroit in gave up the most. Here’s how they compared with the best teams and the Stanley Cup final in 1950. The Bruins also played in two the second worst. postseasons, losing the Cup in seven games to Montreal in 1958.

TEAM GOALS FOR Sabres fans would love to have that short rush of adrenaline and heartbreak sprinkled in with the numbness. Penguins Expansion era, post-1967 2,368 TEAM POINTS PCT. W-L-T/OTL YEARS Devils Scouts/Devils 1,853 0.299 Sabres 174-496-130 1974-75 to 1983-84 winning. The same went for the Seals/ Barons. Tampa Bay, Washington, Vancouver, San Jose and the Minnesota North Seals/Barons Stars all struggled out of the gate.

0.348 Conversely, the Sabres’ first decade of 1970-71 to 1979-80 was a hit. 207-443-128 They went 379-278 with 145 ties for a .570 points percentage, which ranked fourth in the NHL during the span. They also reached one Stanley 1967-68 to 1976-77 Cup final while appearing in seven of 10 playoffs.

Red Wings Now they’re playing like an expansion team … or worse.

0.366 As the expansion era list shows, even the marquee franchises struggle for long stretches. The Harold Ballard era in Toronto included 13 seasons 233-447-120 without a winning record. Detroit became the “Dead Wings” until owner 1976-77 to 1985-86 Mike Ilitch and Steve Yzerman arrived. The Penguins waddled aimlessly until building around . The Islanders’ big name Lightning during their dismal decade was John Spano, which says it all.

0.377 And now the Sabres have joined them. This is rock bottom for Buffalo, which has become the first organization to hit its low point since the 246-440-104 Lightning in 2002. That’s almost two decades and before the introduction 1992-93 to 2001-02 of the shootout.

Maple Leafs Unfortunately for Sabres fans, the bottom could slide even further. The best season of the past decade was the first. In 2011-12, Buffalo went 0.382 39-32-11 with a .543 points percentage. Next season will replace that one for a 10-year span. The Sabres are predicted to finish last again, so 261-450-89 this .432 points percentage may drop lower. 1981-82 to 1990-91 But someday, they’ll have nowhere to go but up. Capitals

0.389 The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 250-427-123

1974-75 to 1983-84

Stars

0.399

246-404-134

1967-68 to 1976-77

Canucks

0.402

258-414-120

1970-71 to 1979-80

Sharks

0.404

267-400-89

1991-92 to 2000-01

Penguins

0.411

274-416-110

1977-78 to 1986-87

Islanders

0.411

275-415-98

1991-92 to 2000-01

Nordiques

0.429

303-417-88

1984-85 to 1993-94

One trait stands out for these woebegone teams. Their struggles came immediately after their creation.

Seven of the 12 decades belong to expansion teams. The /Colorado Rockies/ were better at moving than 1219211 He trains hard. He looks after himself. He’s a really, really committed athlete. A great kid.”

Kylington re-ups with Flames for one year Calgary Sun: LOADED: 08.10.2021

Staff Report

POSTMEDIA NETWORK

Publishing date:Aug 09, 2021

Oliver Kylington is coming back for another year with the Calgary Flames.

On Monday, the team announced that the 24-year-old defenceman has re-upped on a one-year, two-way contract worth US$750,000.

Drafted in the second round, 60th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Kylington has gone on to play 95 games with the Flames.

Only eight of those came last season, though.

Kylington played 38 games in 2018-19 and then 48 more in 2019-20, but the blue-liner was mostly on the outside looking in last season under his head coaches — first Geoff Ward and then Darryl Sutter.

Speaking in mid-March, though, Kylington said he believed his smooth- skating style would fit in naturally with the high-tempo that Sutter was demanding from his team.

“The whole team is playing with that (pace) right now, and it’s really easy for me to add what I’m good at,” Kylington said. “Everyone’s playing with pace. Everyone knows their routes. As a d-man, it’s really easy to play when you know where the forwards are.”

Kylington contributed one assist to the Flames’ efforts last season and has scored five goals and added 11 helpers in his NHL career spanning parts of four campaigns — all with Calgary.

In late July, Kylington was one of 12 players who received qualifying offers from the club. The move prevented them from becoming unrestricted free agents this off-season.

He was also left unprotected by the Flames for the NHL Expansion Draft to stock the Seattle Kraken.

With captain Mark Giordano having been plucked by the Kraken in that draft, it leaves a large hole and relative uncertainty on the Flames’ blue- line.

It’s a shot then for Kylington to rise to the occasion and get his big-league career back on track.

“I’m sure you envisioned (Juuso Valimaki) pushing to play in the top- four,” said Sutter in talking about needing more push from certain players in his defence corps. “I’m sure (Nikita Nesterov), when he signed, was expected to make a contribution in the top-six … Kylington was going to get every opportunity if he grabbed it to play in a top-six role.

”I know the team really wanted to look at Connor Mackey, so I’d say those are the young players that are still pushing to see if they’re NHL players.”

When Kylington re-signed with the club for this past season, he was anxious to carve out a regular-season role.

At that time, he signed a two-way qualifying offer that paid him $787,500 to play at the highest level.

“They have been supportive and really shown me that they believe in me and want me to grow and to take the next step in my career,” Kylington said back in December. “I think my mindset is just to grow more and obviously earn but also get more opportunity to be the player that I know I can be. I think they’ve shown that they want that, and I think I just need to deliver. I know that a lot of stuff is on me. Still, I need to grab that opportunity and deliver the things they want to see.”

At the time, Flames general manager Brad Treliving called him coachable.

“The one thing with Oliver, he’s always been a really hungry player,” added Treliving. “He’s very confident in his abilities. You never have to worry about him putting in work. He’s a guy who takes his craft seriously. 1219212 Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray announces he has cancer

By PHIL THOMPSON

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

AUG 09, 2021 AT 11:10 AM

Chicago Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray announced Monday that he has cancer.

“I want to let everyone know of the challenge that I’m currently facing,” Murray said in a statement. “I have been diagnosed with cancer. With the love and support of my family, friends, the Wirtz family, the Chicago Blackhawks organization and WGN Radio, I’m confident that together we will beat this.

“I look forward to being in the booth calling Blackhawk games in front of the most passionate and energetic fans in all of hockey. My family and I appreciate privacy during this time as we fight this challenge.”

Neither Murray nor the Hawks specified what type of cancer he has or provided any other details about his current condition.

Hawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in the team’s release that “Troy Murray has the full support of the Chicago Blackhawks organization as he begins his treatments. He was a tough player on the ice and is as passionate as they come in the broadcast booth. We know he will fight cancer with the same vigor that has endeared himself to so many.

“The entire Blackhawks family will be right beside Troy, offering whatever support and care that he, his wife, Konnie, and his children, Blake, Julia and Phoebe, need every step of the way.”

Murray will enter his 22nd year as a Hawks broadcaster and 14th as a radio color analyst. He and on-air partners John Wiedeman and Judd Sirott won the Illinois Broadcasters Association’s Silver Dome Awards for “best radio play-by-play” in the Chicago market in 2011, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘17.

The Hawks drafted Murray in the third round in 1980, and he went on to play 12 seasons over two stints in Chicago (1981-91 and 1992-94). Murray had 197 goals and 291 assists in 688 career games.

He was the first — and one of only three — Hawks to win the Frank J. Selke Award winner as the league’s top defensive forward. Dirk Graham (1991) and Jonathan Toews (2013) are the others.

He won the Stanley Cup with the in 1996 and also played with the , Ottawa Senators and .

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219213 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray announces he has cancer

By Jeff Agrest

Aug 9, 2021, 10:35am CDT

Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray announced through the team Monday that he has cancer. Murray did not reveal what type of cancer or whether he’ll join John Wiedeman in the WGN booth at the start of next season.

“With the love and support of my family, friends, the Wirtz family, the Chicago Blackhawks organization and WGN radio I’m confident that together, we will beat this,” Murray, 59, said in a statement. “I look forward to being in the booth calling Blackhawk games in front of the most passionate and energetic fans in all of hockey. My family and I appreciate privacy during this time as we fight this challenge.”

Murray has been a part of the Blackhawks’ broadcast teams since 1999, when he was a studio analyst for Fox Sports Net Chicago. He became the radio analyst in 2003, when The Score carried the Hawks. The team moved to WGN in 2008.

“Troy Murray has the full support of the Chicago Blackhawks organization as he begins his treatments,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Writz said in a statement. “He was a tough player on the ice and is as passionate as they come in the broadcast booth. We know he will fight cancer with the same vigor that has endeared himself to so many.

“The entire Blackhawks family will be right beside Troy, offering whatever support and care that he, his wife, Konnie, and his children, Blake, Julia and Phoebe need, every step of the way. At this time, we ask to respect the privacy of Troy and his family and to keep them all in our thoughts.”

Murray was a third-round draft pick of the Hawks in 1980, and he played in 12 of his 15 NHL seasons for them. His best came in 1985-86, when he was the first Hawk to win the Selke Award, which goes to the NHL’s top defensive forward. That year, he set career highs in goals (45), assists (54) and points (99).

A five-time 20-goal scorer, Murray appeared in 915 career NHL games, scoring 584 points (230 goals, 354 assists) and drawing 875 minutes while playing for the Hawks, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Colorado. He also appeared in 113 playoff games, recording 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) and 145 penalty minutes.

Murray was a member of Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship team in 1996.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219214 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray diagnosed with cancer

Mike Smith

Follow @dhmikesmith

Updated 8/9/2021 5:23 PM

Blackhawks radio color analyst Troy Murray, who played parts of 12 seasons with the team, announced Monday he has cancer.

"I want to let everyone know of the challenge I'm currently facing. I have been diagnosed with cancer," Murray, 59, said in a statement released by the team.

"With the love and support of my family, friends, the Wirtz family, the Chicago Blackhawks organization and WGN radio I'm confident that together, we will beat this. I look forward to being in the booth calling Blackhawk games in front of the most passionate and energetic fans in all of hockey. My family and I appreciate privacy during this time as we fight this challenge."

The news release did not indicate the type of cancer Murry is fighting.

Murray, drafted by the Blackhawks in 1980, played in the NHL from 1982 to 1997. He had 230 goals and 354 assists in 915 games. He also scored 17 goals and had 26 assists in 113 playoff games. He won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996.

"Troy Murray has the full support of the Chicago Blackhawks organization as he begins his treatments," Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement.

"He was a tough player on the ice and is as passionate as they come in the broadcast booth. We know he will fight cancer with the same vigor that has endeared himself to so many. The entire Blackhawks family will be right beside Troy, offering whatever support and care that he, his wife, Konnie, and his children, Blake, Julia and Phoebe need, every step of the way. At this time, we ask to respect the privacy of Troy and his family and to keep them all in our thoughts."

Murray had his best year with the Blackhawks in the 1985-86 season. He earned the Selke Award as the league's best defensive forward. He had career highs in goals (45), assists (54) and points (99).

He transitioned to broadcasting 20 years ago, and this is his 12th year as analyst on the radio.

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219215 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks sign Brandon Hagel to three-year extension

BY CHARLIE ROUMELIOTIS

The Blackhawks have agreed to terms with forward Brandon Hagel on a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2023-24 season, the team announced Friday. His cap hit is $1.5 million.

"Brandon’s ascension to a regular role last season provided a huge boost to our team," President/GM Stan Bowman said in a statement. "We were quite pleased with the growth he showed in his game and ability to handle tougher assignments. His continued development at this level will allow him to be a valuable contributor to our offense moving forward."

Hagel, 22, registered 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) and averaged 13:59 of ice time in 52 games during his first season with the Blackhawks. Two of his goals came in overtime, becoming just the second rookie in franchise history with multiple overtime goals in a season; Brent Seabrook is the other when he had two during the 2005-06 campaign.

Hagel was arguably the Blackhawks' top rookie last season and is likely to play in a middle-six role for years to come. He can play on any of the four lines, which makes him a versatile piece of the puzzle.

Hagel was a pending restricted free agent and coming off a three-year, entry-level contract that carried a cap hit of $880,833. He signed with the Blackhawks in October of 2018 and his role with the organization has grown ever since.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219216 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets re-sign defenseman Andrew Peeke with two-year contract

Brian Hedger

The Columbus Dispatch

The NHL’s offseason has entered its August lull, but the Blue Jackets are still making news.

The team announced Monday that defenseman Andrew Peeke, 23, agreed to a two-year contract worth $1.575 million and that will carry a salary-cap charge of $787,5000 per season. Peeke, who was a restricted free agent, will make $750,000 next season and $825,000 in 2022-23, when he will again have RFA status while re-negotiating.

His new contract completes the Blue Jackets’ list of offseason re- signings, giving them eight defensemen with one-way NHL contracts. That's not including Adam Boqvist, who was acquired in a trade for Seth Jones and is going into the final year of his three-year entry-level deal. Boqvist is a lock to make the NHL roster, presumably with a significant role, which means the Jackets will likely pare their top roster down to either seven or eight defensemen through waivers or trade.

Trade speculation also continues to surround goalie Joonas Korpisalo and injured forward Max Domi, who are both pending free agents who can test the open market next summer.

Peeke’s situation was slightly more pressing because of the timing. The opening of training camp is six weeks away and he remained unsigned. Peeke had scant leverage in negotiations because he hadn’t played enough in the NHL, leaving him without arbitration rights or the ability to sign a contract offer sheet, but there was no sense in letting his situation fester.

Peeke was the lone remaining RFA player within the Jackets’ system who didn’t have a new deal. Previous negotiations with players in similar contractual spots didn’t go smoothly.

Peeke does offer the Blue Jackets something they currently lack. He has an intriguing mix of size, skating and a right-handed shot that’s now a scarcity within the system. Among 13 defensemen signed to one- or two- way NHL deals, only Boqvist and Peeke shoot from the right side. It’s also a trait the Blue Jackets were unable to find via free agency, which general manager Jarmo Kekalainen hoped to do going into the league’s signing period.

As for Korpisalo and Domi, recent reports have stated the Blue Jackets are still exploring the trade market for both. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the Blue Jackets are looking for a “better fit” for Domi, who’s recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and might be out until December. Korpisalo’s name was connected in a July 30 report by Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com to interest from the , but according to TSN, that interest has waned.

Notes

Dubois has a new number for the third time in the NHL, opting to change to No. 80 with the Winnipeg Jets. Dubois wore No. 18 with the Blue Jackets, switched to No. 13 after being traded to Winnipeg last season and will now honor the memory of Matiss Kivlenieks, his late friend and former Columbus teammate, who died July 4 after he was struck by a fireworks mortar shell. … For the second straight year, the Blue Jackets are not holding a development camp, but will host prospects who arrive in Columbus ahead of the team’s scheduled Sept. 15 trip to Traverse City, Michigan, for the annual NHL Prospects Tournament at Centre Ice Arena.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219217 Detroit Red Wings "When you interview a player and all of the sudden they start talking about ‘my favorite players are the Tkachuks,’ it kind of puts a little smile on your face that that’s the way they want to play.”

Red Wings' draft pick Pasquale Zito ready to return to ice after lost With no game action to watch, scouts wanted to see video of Zito season working out and did Zoom interviews. Zito had several Zoom conversations with the Wings, and felt a connection to the organization.

TED KULFAN | The Detroit News But with no games, Zito really had no idea what the draft weekend would be like.

"I was a little nervous going into the draft, not being able to play and Detroit — What a strange hockey season this was for Red Wings draft having that season under my belt for the scouts to see my full potential," pick Pasquale Zito. Zito said. "I continued working out during the pandemic and trying to work on my overall game, just trying to improve my speed and to play at the Or non season, which made it so unique. next level." The Wings' recent sixth-round pick in the NHL Entry Draft didn't play a The fact the Wings drafted Zito makes his entire story come almost full game this past season. Zito's Windsor Spitfires are part of the Ontario circle. Hockey League, which never got started due to the pandemic. As a rookie Spitfire, Zito would often slow down by the Ambassador So Zito was back home in Ottawa doing what he could to stay in shape, Bridge in Windsor and gaze wistfully toward Detroit. and hope for the best in his NHL draft year. "I'd see all the beautiful lights in Detroit and I've kind of imagined going "The last time I played was last March (2020), before the OHL shut over and playing (in the NHL) and now it's happened," Zito said. "It's kind down," Zito said after the Wings picked him 166th overall. "It was against of surreal I've been drafted by Detroit, and how close it is to Windsor. I'm Kitchener. That was the last game I played that mattered." excited. I can't wait to see the city there (in Detroit)." While other junior and college leagues around North America and Europe were able to at least partially complete seasons and draft-eligible prospects were able to be evaluated, Zito was home working out in a Detroit News LOADED: 08.10.2021 gym.

His only hockey came in pick-up games.

"Playing a lot of pick up with a bunch of OHL guys," Zito said. "I was very fortunate I had my gym that was open, and I'd have scrimmages (at a local junior team's rink). There were tons of great players and I was lucky enough to stay in shape and have something like that to continue working on my game.

"It's been real frustrating. A lot of ups and downs. It was frustrating that everyone else in the world got to play except the . It's tough. You've always dreamed of playing your NHL draft year to kind of showcase your skill and how much you've improved over your first year and I didn't get that opportunity.

"But I'm quite honored to be selected by such a great organization like Detroit for trusting me."

There certainly was a measure of trust by the Wings, who only saw Zito during his previous season in Windsor.

But Kris Draper, the Wings' director of amateur scouting, picked up on many qualities about Zito that made him a legitimate prospect.

"Was it hard? Yeah, I mean obviously we haven’t seen him,” said Draper, of the decision to draft Zito. “But I know after we made the selection and we talked to him, he was so excited about getting drafted. He basically said ‘I’m going to do everything I can to make it worthwhile of us obviously stepping up and picking him.

"That’s pretty neat to hear.”

Zito isn't the type of player who will light up scoreboards. In 46 games during the 2019-20 season, he had three goals and 10 assists in 46 games, with 27 penalty minutes.

The 6-foot, 175-pound left wing gets into the faces of rivals, likes to agitate and plays with passion.

"He wants to be a hard player to play against," Draper said "He wants to compete against the other team’s top players, wants to make a tough net-front presence. Those are the things you like.”

It's probably not surprising that Zito points to Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk as a player he admires.

"He's one of my favorite players," Zito said. "Just how much heart he brings to the game and how hard he works. I feel like I bring a lot of similarities, like his physicality and leadership. I'm a very emotional player. I bring a lot of heart to the game.

"He's a guy I look up to in the NHL."

Draper was thrilled to hear it. 1219218 Detroit Red Wings “Now, we may differ slightly in the way that we’re going to use that information. Andy gives all the information to the players; I might be a little more selective with some of that as more of an as-needed basis, but Former Red Wings assistant’s rise to WMU hockey coach part of 11-year I think it’s a great gift. We spend all our time so the players can be as journey well-prepared as possible, and I think that’s a gift he’s passed on to me, for sure.”

When asked about how his coaching style compares to Murray’s, Updated Aug 06, 2021; Posted Aug 06, 2021 Ferschweiler said expectations around preparation, organization and effort will be similar, but that the player-coach relationship might look By Patrick Nothaft | [email protected] different.

“I think the best way to say it is I’m more of an invisible fence coach, and KALAMAZOO, MI – When Pat Ferschweiler joined ’s Western Andy’s more of a permanent fence guy,” Ferschweiler said. “He creates Michigan hockey coaching staff in 2010, he set his sights on one day the boundaries and is like, ‘Here are the rules.’ manning the middle of the Broncos’ bench. “I like to give the guys a little more freedom maybe, but they certainly With Blashill also in his first season as WMU head coach, the forward- know where the line is, so if they cross it, they’ll be corrected, but there looking Ferschweiler knew it would take time, but after 11 years, the are a little more ways to look around and enjoy the yard, if that makes former Bronco hockey player is returning to take over the program at his any sense. alma mater. “I think we’re both good communicators. We both certainly demand effort WMU announced Ferschweiler as Broncos’ seventh hockey head coach and being great teammates, so I think there are a lot of similarities there. in program history Tuesday, the same day officially stepped Our relationships with the guys may differ slightly in that I probably joke down after a 10-year run. and interact with the players a little more in that regard, but the players will be a better judge of that probably than me.” During his introductory press conference on Thursday, Ferschweiler said he learned of Murray’s decision to resign on July 29 and was surprised, While some of the head coaching duties will be new, Ferschweiler said but excited for the new opportunity. he’s aware of the nature of the job and is ready for the challenge of building the Broncos into a national power. “Last Thursday was the first talk, so this has happened rather quickly,” Ferschweiler said of learning the 70-year-old Murray was stepping down. “Certainly, I’m going to have to learn what some of those extra “I think anyone who knows Andy Murray would be surprised that he has responsibilities are, but at this point, I’m aware there’s fundraising… stepped down and is not going to be behind the bench anymore, and I’m there’s dealing with the alumni – all stuff I’ve kind of done already, but it’s sure he’s not done with hockey and will find a different way to be not pro coaching, where you just coach and have your summers off, and involved. The man loves hockey and has a tremendous passion for there’s nothing else,” he said. “It’s a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week hockey. He’s a great hockey coach and a very good person. job as far as recruiting, as far as being involved with the university, engaging the alumni, engaging the fanbase. I’m prepared and happy to “So, in that regard, I was a little surprised, but at some point – I mean, do all those things, and some things that haven’t been mentioned, I might Andy has done so much in hockey, and I think it was time he was ready. I not even know about yet, but I’m ready for the challenge and ready to think Ruth, his wife, was ready as much as anyone was, and so, again, I succeed at any level or job that’s asked of me to make the Broncos a told Kathy when I came back here for the first time 11 years ago, I came national power.” back here to be the head coach. This is something I’ve prepared for, I’ve been ready for, so I’m super comfortable in the role at this point.” Ferschweiler’s promotion means one of his first tasks will be hiring another assistant coach – a process that is currently underway and one “I have full confidence that I’m ready for the job and that we’re going to he hopes to complete soon, given the Broncos hold their season-opening continue to move this program forward in such a positive direction,” he Brown and Gold scrimmage on Oct. 2 and play their first game against added. Ferris State on Oct. 8.

A 1993 WMU graduate, Ferschweiler competed in 116 games as a “The search started immediately last Thursday when they told me, and forward for the Broncos, tallying 30 goals and 65 assists in that span. He I’ve reached out to people that I trust and that I’m very confident in in the was the team’s Most Valuable Player during the 1992-93 campaign, in hockey world and that are my friends,” Ferschweiler said. “That’s where which he scored 35 points, including a team-high 15 goals. He was also I’m going to start, with those guys. Several very qualified people have named the CCHA’s Best Defensive Forward during the 1991-92 season. already reached out to me showing interest in the job. Obviously with the season being literally just weeks away, we’ll try to expedite the process He returned to the Broncos in 2010 as part of Blashill’s staff and helped and make it as quick as possible, but we also want to get the right guy. guide WMU to the NCAA Tournament, then remained with the team I’m very confident we’re going to get a very good, qualified assistant under Murray, who was hired when Blashill left to become an assistant coach in here to help.” coach with the Detroit Red Wings. Whoever rounds out WMU’s staff will have a large and talented roster in A Rochester, Minn., native, Ferschweiler coached alongside Murray for front of them, following the NCAA’s decision to not count the 2020-21 three seasons, before rejoining Blashill as an assistant for the Grand athletic season against players’ eligibility clock amid the COVID-19 Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings’ top minor-league affiliate. pandemic. When Blashill became the Red Wings’ head coach in July 2015, he There is also plenty of talent in the Broncos’ locker room, with All- brought Ferschweiler along with him as an assistant coach – a role he American defenseman Ronnie Attard coming back and forwards Ethen held until 2019, when he returned to WMU to serve as an assistant under Frank, Paul Washe and Josh Passolt set to return after serving as team Murray. captains last year. After sharing the bench with Murray for five seasons in Kalamazoo, “We’re extremely happy that we got our three senior forwards back. Ferschweiler said the art of preparation was the biggest lesson he They’re all elite forwards,” Ferschweiler said. “Ethen Frank, he’s one of learned from the longtime coach, who also spent 10 years as an NHL the fastest players in the league, and we love him and can’t wait for him head coach – six with the Los Angeles Kings and four with the St. Louis to be back. Paul Washe is a great leader, and we’re super excited he’s Blues. back. Josh Passolt is an elite player. We’re very happy to have those “I say this often, but Andy has given me the gift of overpreparation, and guys back, and then Ronnie Attard, after being a first team All-American what I mean by that is we’re never surprised by anything,” Ferschweiler – all those guys had an opportunity to sign (pro contracts), so them said. “We’ve done our homework, whether it’s film study, whether it’s coming back somewhat unexpectedly, we’re very happy for that first of listening to the other head coach’s press conferences – as much all, but it does put some pressure on roster management, and we’re information as we can possibly have about our opponent, we’re going to going to have to get through the year and find ice time and find a way to have, and the best possible way to use that in preparation to be make everyone happy, which I’m confident we’ll do. successful in hockey games, we’re going to have. “We have a very tight-knit team; they all believe and like each other, and they all work extremely hard together, so that’s just going to be a balancing act that I think we’ll be successful with, for sure, and we’ll obviously trend our way back toward a lower roster number moving forward.”

Michigan Live LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219219 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings re-sign RFA center Chase Pearson

Updated Aug 05, 2021; Posted Aug 05, 2021

By Ryan Zuke | [email protected]

The Detroit Red Wings re-signed restricted free agent center Chase Pearson on Thursday to a one-year contract.

Last season with the Wings’ affiliate, the , the 2015 fifth-round pick finished third on the team with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 28 games. The 23-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut but will compete in camp for the fourth-line center spot vacated by Luke Glendening, who signed a two-year, $3- million contract with the Stars this offseason.

Pearson does not need to be placed on waivers to be sent to the minors and will again be a restricted free agent after the 2021-22 season. The 6- foot-2, 209-pounder is the only Red Wings draft pick from 2015 still with the organization.

“If he’s the right fit for that, if he’s the best man for the job, we’ll put him in there,” general manager Steve Yzerman said in July.

“I would trade off how much is he going to play. 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.”

Pearson played three seasons at the University of Maine before turning pro following the 2018-19 season. In his first full season with the Griffins in 2019-20, he registered eight goals and 14 assists in 59 games.

The Wings also signed free agent center Pius Suter this offseason, adding to Detroit’s depth in the middle. Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno are natural centers, while Frans Nielsen and Vladislav Namestnikov can slot in at center or wing.

Detroit has four remaining restricted free agents: forwards Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne and Givani Smith, and defenseman Filip Hronek.

Michigan Live LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219220 Edmonton Oilers that they just want you to play a lot of games and make sure you keep on getting experience, because experience is the best teacher.

“I think being able to play a lot of games my first year and my second Stuart Skinner to continue development with Edmonton Oilers year I got to play a ton and this past year I played quite a bit, which was a lot of fun. I think just keeping getting games under my belt and learning about myself in the net and learning about the game and where the pro Derek Van Diest game is at now and I think the speed and everything that helps me.”

Publishing date:Aug 09, 2021 The Oilers are hoping Skinner is eventually able to make the jump from the AHL. Whether it’s this season or next season will be up to the six-

foot-four, 206-pound goaltender. The Oilers are currently heading into Goaltender Stuart Skinner is looking forward to continuing his training camp with Skinner behind Smith and Koskinen on the depth development with the Edmonton Oilers. chart.

The Edmonton product signed a two-year, two-way contract extension “The goal this year is to make a really good impression in camp,” Skinner with the Oilers — announced Sunday — which will play him an average said. “Obviously, I would love to stay in the NHL for the year; that’s annual salary of $750,000 per season. obviously the dream. Of course that’s the plan going in and I think I’m working towards that goal right now. “Obviously growing up in Edmonton and watching the Oilers play my whole life, it’s super exciting that I get a couple of extra years to prove “Being able to work at Rogers Place right now, I have great trainers to myself and work my way up, and hopefully, I’m able to do something work with and (Oilers goalie coach) Dustin Schwartz on the ice. I’m good with it,” Stuart said Monday. “Just being able to grow my game feeling really good going into camp and hopefully things go well.” down in Bakersfield was super helpful for me last year, and I had a blast down in Bakersfield. We had a great group down there and a great coaching staff for our development. It was a lot of fun.” Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 08.10.2021 Stuart, 22, had his best season as a professional last year in Bakersfield, backstopping the team to the Pacific Division championship in a COVID- 19 shortened season. Stuart led the AHL in appearances (31), wins (20), minutes played (1,787) and saves (753). He had a 2.38 goals against average with a .914 save percentage and two shutouts in 31 games.

Stuart then posted a 2.68 goals against average and .907 save percentage, helping the Condors get past the San Diego Gulls and the Henderson Silver Knights in a modified playoff tournament.

“I’d say that was my best year so far,” Skinner said. “I think it took some time for me to kind of learn the professional style of play and how the guys play in front of me. I kind of understand what I’m going to be up against now, so I think just the experience and getting used to it has done me well.”

Along with being one of the best goalies in the AHL, Skinner also won his only NHL start, backstopping the Oilers to an 8-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 31.

“That was super exciting, it was a dream come true,” Skinner said. “That’s what you think about when you’re a kid and being able to play at home with the Oilers jersey on; it’s very surreal.

“It’s really a crazy moment the first time you step on that ice. When the puck drops you’re in awe that your dream is coming true at that moment. It was an amazing moment for me and my family and my friends, it was a lot of fun and I’m just happy we were able to get the win.”

A third-round pick of the Oilers – 78th overall – in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Skinner spent the first part of last season in Edmonton backing up , while Mike Smith was recovering from an injury.

Once he went to Bakersfield for the abbreviated AHL season, it was difficult for him to get called back up to the Oilers with quarantine rules in place for the entire NHL season.

“It was obviously definitely a special year for everybody going through the process that we went through,” Skinner said. “With all the protocols it made it a little tougher to go up and down.

“At the beginning in Bakersfield we didn’t have any fans come to the games as well, and they kind of ended up letting a few fans come a little at a time later on in the year and then at last we got a few people in the arena to come and watch. It was definitely a different year, but it was a lot of fun.”

A former Major Junior standout with the , who was traded to the in his final year of eligibility and went on to win a WHL championship, Skinner took a big step forward in his progression last season.

“I think just the style that teams play is much different from junior to pro, and I think the thing that helped me was getting a lot of games under my belt,” Skinner said. “I remember having a lot of conversations with the management in the past three years in my pro career, and a lot of it is 1219221 Edmonton Oilers (Six-figure contracts tend to be interchangeable depth pieces or entry- level deals, mostly for players drafted by the last crew. They can also be buried in the minors at no cap penalty.)

Win or lose, these Oilers are built in Ken Holland’s image The job in Edmonton is to build around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Mostly, Holland has had a free hand. He has chosen to commit $85 million to significant players over the next two years. By Jonathan Willis Time has done a good job of removing most of Peter Chiarelli’s mistakes. Aug 9, 2021 Oscar Klefbom is on LTIR, where he doesn’t hurt much, and if he were on the roster he’d be more positive than negative. There’s still Mikko

Koskinen, but seeing as Chiarelli had one foot out the door and the other Imagine being the general manager of an NHL team gifted with two Hart on a banana peel when he signed that contract, that one has to fall Trophy-winning forwards in the prime of their respective careers. The job mostly on Holland’s boss Bob Nicholson. comes with a reasonably stocked system of developing young players, Other than that, there’s a small amount of dead money left from the Milan three years’ worth of draft picks and the ability to spend to the salary cap Lucic and Andrej Sekera contracts, worth about 5 percent of the cap. It maximum every single year. How would you proceed? matters. Given the McDavid/Draisaitl advantage the Oilers are starting If you’re Ken Holland, the answer is the 2021-22 Oilers or more with, it’s also the kind of thing a good GM should be able to work around. accurately, the 2021-23 Oilers. His major choices will lock most of the Holland has had the ammunition he needed to add important pieces. roster together for two years. Even if we ignore pick-for-pick trades and the third-rounder he spent to Almost all the important contracts in Edmonton bear Holland’s signature. commute the Lucic deal, he’s still done a lot. Since becoming general If we set the bar at deals worth $1 million or more, we get this interesting manager, he has traded away: breakdown: Six draft picks: two seconds, one third, two fourths and one fifth The Oilers' seven-figure contracts Three young defencemen: Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones and John Marino CONTRACTS 21-22 CAP HIT 21-22 %CAP 22-23 (with Marino a pending college free agent) CAP HIT 22-23 %CAP On opening night next season, Edmonton’s roster will start with McDavid Holland additions and Draisaitl. It’ll be backed up by everything that Holland could get for $50-odd million, six draft picks and three good young defencemen. $44,488,462 Holland tends to like players that are bigger, older and more 54.59% experienced. There are some exceptions, but mostly they aren’t guys he’s spent money on: $40,613,462 Holland's 10 biggest Oilers contracts 49.23% PLAYER CAP HIT AGE NHL GP HT./WT. McDavid/Draisaitl Darnell Nurse $21,000,000 $9,250,000 25.77% 26 $21,000,000 406 25.45% 6'4"/221 Mikko Koskinen Duncan Keith $4,500,000 $5,538,462 5.52% 38 $0 1192 0.00% 6'1"/192 Milan Lucic/James Neal Zach Hyman $2,666,667 $5,500,000 3.27% 29 $2,666,667 345 3.23% 6'1"/211 Andrej Sekera Ryan Nugent-Hopkins $1,500,000 $5,125,000 1.84% 28 $1,500,000 656 1.82% 6'/184 Totals Tyson Barrie $74,155,129 $4,500,000 90.99% 30 $65,780,129 610 79.73% 5'11"/197 Cody Ceci defenceman and play 25 minutes against the other team’s best players. Darnell Nurse is going to do that.” $3,250,000 The only place where I think Holland misspoke is when he said he 27 couldn’t put a price on all those things he valued. He did. In this case, the 549 price was Caleb Jones, a third-round pick and a total of $11,076,924 in cap space over the next two seasons. 6'2"/210 Every decision a manager makes shows what he believes in. When push Zack Kassian comes to shove, Holland doesn’t believe in analytics. He believes in experience and in proven achievement, not exclusively but often, as $3,200,000 Keith and Smith and Kyle Turris and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all show. He 30 believes in size, again not exclusively but often.

552 We can take the same rationale and apply it to every one of Holland’s big choices. You’d better believe that handing over $74 million to Nurse 6'3"/211 wasn’t a numbers decision. It was based on what he’s meant to these Oilers, on what he did in 2020-21, on his size and on 400-odd games in Warren Foegele the NHL and four straight seasons of playing 22-plus minutes a night. $2,750,000 It’s how Holland did things in Detroit, and 13 years ago those instincts 25 served him well. Then he was building around Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom rather than McDavid, Draisaitl and 200 Nurse but the general idea was the same.

6'2"/198 We’ll now see whether those ideas still work. After all, Chiarelli won in 2011 with his heavy hockey ideas and a core of Patrice Bergeron, David Mike Smith Krejci, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. He came to Edmonton four years $2,200,000 after that. He exited after four more years, his reputation as a builder rightfully in shambles. 39 For Keith, Smith, Nurse or any other NHL player, the beauty of the sport 642 is that it really doesn’t matter what anyone says. What happens on the 6'5"/220 ice proves their value. The same is true for general managers. Opinions are inexorably pulled toward the gravity exerted by what the teams they Kyle Turris build do on the ice.

$1,650,000 For two seasons, the Oilers have been a patchwork quilt, a hodgepodge of Holland and his predecessors. No longer. The expensive, veteran- 31 laden team that Edmonton has committed to for the next two years is 753 built in Holland’s image.

6'1"/190 If it works, Holland will have the thanks of a city that cares like few others. He’ll have enhanced a career as a builder that on merit has Looking at Holland’s 10 biggest contracts — totalling some $43 million in already seen him make his way to the Hall of Fame. If it doesn’t, we’ll see annual value — we get a clear look at the kind of player he likes. The if the next guy has better ideas. average player in this group is over 30 and has played 600-odd NHL games. Even if we ignore Mike Smith, the average size is 6-foot-1 1/2 and 202 pounds. The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 A lot of people have written that the Oilers need to add players with experience, players who know how to win. A lot of people have written that the Oilers need to get bigger and tougher. If they’re right — and there’s a lot of overlap between those two points of view — then mission accomplished. Holland has busily added age and size and guys who have been around to the roster.

That’s the important thing that’s easy to miss in all the individual deals: the big picture. Chiarelli didn’t get fired because he shouldn’t have signed Lucic or because he shouldn’t have traded or for turning the Mathew Barzal pick into Griffin Reinhart. He got fired because his overall vision for the franchise was a failure, because his recipe for “heavy hockey” prioritized the wrong things.

Holland will succeed or fail based on his vision of a bigger, older, wiser Oilers roster. He’s made additions that reflect his values. He’s ignored things that don’t.

A lot of Edmonton fans are sick of debating the Duncan Keith trade, and that’s fair. He hasn’t played a game yet. Everyone has an opinion, and the beauty of the sport is that the outcome is in Keith’s hands, just like it was in Mike Smith’s a year ago. Yet something Holland said when he brought Keith in is worth repeating.

“I don’t know if this is a numbers decision,” Holland said when asked about Keith’s analytics.

“I can’t put a price on three Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy, two gold medals, his leadership, what he’s meant to the Chicago Blackhawks franchise, how he’s played winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2015. Is he the same player today? No. He wouldn’t be available. Am I aware of the analytics? Yeah, the analytics aren’t as good as they were in his prime. But I’m not asking him to be our No. 1 1219222 Florida Panthers

Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King signs name, image and likeness deal with Florida Panthers

By KHOBI PRICE

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

AUG 09, 2021 AT 9:52 AM

Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King is now a part of the Florida Panthers’ organization, but that doesn’t mean he’ll have to put down the football for a hockey stick.

The Panthers announced on Monday that King signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) contract with the organization, making him the nation’s first collegiate athlete to agree to an NIL deal with a major professional sports team, according to the Panthers.

As part of the endorsement deal, King will make appearances at Panthers games and will work with the Panthers digital and social media teams to produce content.

He’ll also work with the Panthers to develop a “merchandise collection, co-branded art and his own exclusive BB&T Center concession menu item,” which will be available at Panthers home games and events for the upcoming season.

The Panthers recently became the first U.S. major pro sports team, and first in the NHL, to establish an NIL program that provides college athletes the chance to profit from their name, image and likeness.

They plan to expand their “FLA Athlete” program by agreeing to deal with collegiate student athletes in the state.

“We are thrilled to welcome D’Eriq to Panthers Territory as our first ‘FLA Athlete’,” Panthers’ chief strategy officer Sam Doerr said in a statement. “D’Eriq is a superstar both on and off the field and we are excited to reach and engage South Florida sports fans in new ways through this collaborative partnership.”

King, who transferred to UM from last January, is coming off a 2020 where he threw for 2,686 yards and 23 touchdowns while also setting the Hurricanes’ single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 538.

The 23-year-old signal caller has made several NIL agreements it went into effect at the beginning of July, including ones with College Hunks Moving Company, Murphy Auto Group, Dreamfield, The Wharf and Panini America.

When asked after the Hurricanes’ first preseason practice on Friday if his NIL activities have calmed down with the team’s regular season starting soon, King said his focus remains on football.

“I’m not even worried about any of that,” he said. “I’m worried about football. I have a good team. Obviously, I still have obligations, but I’m focused on football.”

The Hurricanes open their season against Alabama on Sept. 4 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219223 Florida Panthers — Listening to a Penguins game will not be the same: Mike Lange won’t do play-by-play anymore, but he’ll stay with the team’s radio network. (PHN)

FHN Today: Florida Panthers sign a QB in D’Eriq King — Boston’s Bruce Cassidy will be part of Cooper’s staff in Beijing. (BHN)

— Adam Pelech’s new deal with the Isles is a good deal for both sides. Published 15 hours ago on August 9, 2021 (NYIHN)

By George Richards — Alex Ovechkin is getting into the NFT biz. (WHN)

— The Wings and Jakun Vrana are far apart in their negotiations. (DHN)

With Keith Yandle off to the , the Florida Panthers are looking for a new power play quarterback. How about D’Eriq King of the Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 08.10.2021 University of Miami Hurricanes?

On Monday, the Panthers announced that King — the second-year signal caller of the Hurricanes — is the first collegiate athlete to be signed to the team’s groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) program.

King, without a doubt, is the most well-known college athlete in town as he has been named to the preseason watch lists for the Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien and John Maxwell awards.

Now in his sixth season (he transferred in from Houston last year and is taking advantage of the NCAA rule allowing players an extra year of eligibility due to Covid-19), King threw for 2,686 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2020.

OK, so we know King is a pretty good football player, but what does he have to do with hockey?

Well, with college players now allowed to be compensated for using their name, image — and likeness — the Panthers plan on using King’s social media footprint to help advertise the team.

King has been on the forefront of the NIL movement since it went into affect this summer already linking deals with College Hunks Moving Company, Murphy Auto Group, Dreamfield, The Wharf and Panini America.

The Panthers plan on having him not only come to games and events as a team ambassador, but he will also “work with the Panthers to develop a merchandise collection, co-branded art and his own exclusive BB&T Center concession menu item, which will be available at all Panthers home games and events for the upcoming season.”

King will likely not be the last South Florida collegiate athlete to sign on with the Panthers. The team is looking for more and interested athletes can visit FloridaPanthers.com/AthletesWanted.

“We are thrilled to welcome D’Eriq to Panthers Territory as our first ‘FLA Athlete’,” Panthers’ Chief Strategy Officer Sam Doerr said in a statement.

“D’Eriq is a superstar both on and off the field and we are excited to reach and engage South Florida sports fans in new ways through this collaborative partnership.”

Miami Hurricanes football coach Manny Diaz dropped the puck before a Florida Panthers game against the Ottawa Senators during the 2018-19 season.

FLORIDA PANTHERS LINKS

Chase Priskie signed a new contract with the Panthers last week as he will battle for a roster spot next month. (FHN)

— In case you missed it, the latest Florida Panthers mailbag came out last week where I answered many of your questions. None of you asked about D’Eriq King, however. (FHN)

— Looking for a new part-time job and would like to work at the arena? The Panthers are hiring. (Panthers)

— Grades on each team’s free agency class. The Panthers made the honor roll. (ESPN)

AROUND THE NHL

Priskie isn’t the only South Florida guy to get a new contract: The Blue Jackets signed Parkland’s Andrew Peeke to a two-year deal as well. (CBJ)

— If NHL players go to the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper will coach Team Canada. (TSN) 1219224 Los Angeles Kings Kings attacking zone to get a great view of hopeful history, and Gretzky rewarded my efforts by scoring his historic goal less than 50 feet away right in front of me (deep in the left faceoff circle) on a perfect return Touching Greatness – Book in Review assist pass from his buddy Marty McSorley.

#802 made the greatest goal scorer in NHL history, and he looked as relieved as he was elated (then holding or sharing 83 By LA Kings Insider records—numbers that would’ve even made Babe Ruth envious). They stopped the game for about a 10-minute on-

the-ice ceremony, during which Wayne addressed the crowd. We later Written by Guest Contributor – L.A. radio’s longest-tenured had our normal postgame news conference and then got my usual sports reporter and a native who has been reactions from as many players possible in the jubilant locker room. credentialed to cover Kings hockey since 1974 (the same year Bob Miller You must know that since I was in radio, my sound would often not be began his HOF run in L.A.). Ted spent a decade calling pro and college played until the next morning. So, unlike the writers and most others, I hockey games and is now with Sports USA radio network, where he was had no tight deadlines and was able to milk my time in the joyous locker the studio host for this past . Sobel is also set to room on this very special night. Unintentionally staying until the very last begin his 17th season of doing the same for their NFL Sunday person left the room, while waiting for the always last out of the shower doubleheader broadcasts. (the very likeable McSorley) and just seconds away from leaving myself, Becoming a hockey person in L.A. is a common thing these days, but not suddenly the man of the night walked right up to me still grinning, and for someone who grew up here in the 1960s with only ice Gretzky said, “Ted, you’re probably the only guy I didn’t take a picture play in SoCal. But here I am more than a half century later having written with tonight, so let’s get one!” a book called Touching Greatness with a special chapter on covering the Breaking media etiquette because of this most unusual celebrated game at its highest level and with the ‘Great One’ not only the star of circumstance, he held the 802 puck in front of us, and team photographer some my stories, but so nicely giving me his endorsement for all of you to Wen Roberts kindly snapped a few shots. Wayne then placed that enjoy these stories. historic puck in my hands, and we both laughed about what had just When Wayne Gretzky was introduced as the newest L.A. King in the occurred. Wen and I were at last both done for the night (past midnight), summer of 1988, I was right there at one of the most storied news walking out together, as Gretzky could finally fully unwind—after a long conferences we have ever witnessed. The game of hockey changed grind that obviously left him completely spent. FOREVER when Edmonton sent Wayne to L.A. – on this day 33 years What an incredibly nice gesture from not only the star player that he was, ago – in the biggest trade in North American sports history. The Babe but to think of me assuring that I got a keepsake of the occasion after Ruth of his sport was now entrenched in our neighborhood and every one of his most celebrated personal achievements was amazing to me. game and practice was a happening and it was a true pleasure to cover it Furthermore, that’s only half the story about this special picture. all for your radio listening pleasure. Of course, the rest of that story and so many others are in the book Here is an excerpt of one of my special behind-the-scenes Gretzky which includes some of my other favorite interactions with Wayne, stories in Chapter 15 called: “Rinkside with the Great Ones”. Gordie, Mario Lemieux, Jean Beliveau, and Kings greats My dealings with Wayne Gretzky over the years have been spectacular, and Marcel Dionne. And you’ll absolutely laugh out loud when reading given that he’s one of the most down to earth real people who ever how Wayne took me into the Kings locker room between periods of a earned the title Superstar. I interviewed Wayne many times when he was game and helped to produce my first hockey business card. a member of his Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers. And there was As for now, I get to tease you about other hockey stories to come in one particularly interesting story regarding his team from the same 1982 future volumes of Touching Greatness, including my first Kings game as playoff series, which featured the Kings’ famed ‘Miracle on Manchester’ a teen when getting to stand alongside the bench in L.A.’s first Stanley win at the Forum (a game which, unfortunately, I did not attend). I was Cup playoff Game 7 and interacting with Hall of Fame goalie Terry there, however, trying to get in without a ticket, as my usher connections Sawchuk at the start of the third period in 1968 before taking a heart- didn’t come through that historic night. And just like then team owner Dr. breaking 9-4 loss to the . Calling the action into my Buss, I got to hear the comeback on the radio driving home. trusty cassette recorder on April 21, 1977 with the Kings facing Although no Stanley Cups during the Gretzky years (and just an illegal elimination again vs. the Big Bad Boston Bruins in the conference semi- curved stick away, that changed all momentum), I had some high quality finals. That amazing almost come-from-behind third-period call helped to moments with “The Great One.” Among the most memorable was during get me my first pro radio play-by-play job. the Gretzky watch in 1994, when each game would give him a chance to And of course there is nothing like getting to cover the ultimate, a Stanley draw closer to Gordie Howe’s all-time goal scoring record of 801. I Cup championship in your own town. And after a long 44 years of traveled up to San Jose, with Wayne just two goals away from catching frustration, I got to do it twice in three years and share some special ‘Mr. Hockey.’ And when he stole the puck right in front of Sharks goalie moments with Kings HOF broadcaster Bob Miller, who to this day has Arturs Irbe and beat him five-hole for goal #800, we could taste it. tears of joy when just bringing up those times. And Bob is the one who The Kings trailed 6-5 late in that game, when they pulled goalie Kelly opened the door to one of my first hockey play-by-play gigs, his former Hrudey in the final minute. There was Wayne again, standing on the place of employment WIBA Radio in Madison, Wisconsin. doorstep for his own rebound tap-in tying goal for his team and with That was the season that gave me a once in a lifetime Gordie at 801. The sold out ‘Shark Tank’ suddenly became Gretzky fans opportunity to call a pair of our Team USA pre-Olympic games against and gave him his much deserved loud standing ovation (as they loved U.W. And I’ll have an in-depth chapter on that experience when being a part of history too). interviewing coach Herb Brooks just a few short weeks before his kids We left the Tank with Gretzky still needing one more goal to surpass stunned the world at Lake Placid. And our coach ‘Badger’ Bob Johnson’s Howe. I joked with Wayne afterwards that I couldn’t afford to keep personal story of leaving us to see his son Mark win the Gold Medal was following him around outside of L.A., so to PLEASE get that record as special a time for me around this great game of hockey. breaking goal ASAP—and preferably at home! ‘Touching Greatness’ is half memoir of being born and raised in L.A. in Then, Gordie unexpectedly told me privately in the bowels of the arena, the 60s with enough music, entertainment, and sports stories for every well after the game, that he was just too tired to continue this road show person to enjoy, but covering the Kings over the past five decades has waiting for history to happen. As a result, he would be heading home and been an experience that I’m proud to write about and share with some of would have to enjoy the ‘Gretzky Watch’ from afar (and rejoin him soon the most passionate fans anywhere. after the record was broken). Also in a scheduled future volume, I’ll include a chapter called ‘Living The next game was at the Forum (without Howe in the building) on Slap Shot’ (when calling games in the same minor league a year after the March 23 with the Vancouver Canucks in town. I did something I had movie was released), and when the home fill-in beat writer wanted to never done before. Instead of sitting in my usual press box seat, I went fight me while I was on-the-air calling a brawl on the ice (and in the down to the glass and watched from ice level, thanks to my usher friends stands) that produced police reports before the end of the first period. who were nice enough to allow me to stand there. I parked myself in the Becoming a hockey guy has been a fulfilling part of my life and I thank you all for your support over the years to make ‘Touching Greatness’ a reality.

Touching Greatness by Ted Sobel is available on Amazon and at coacheschoice.com.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219225 Minnesota Wild

Pressure mounts in Kirill Kaprizov talks with Wild as KHL threat is heightened

By Michael Russo

Aug 10, 2021

The ugly Kirill Kaprizov contract negotiations took another turn Monday night when the Daily Faceoff reported that the Minnesota Wild’s unsigned restricted free agent has a tentative agreement in place with CSKA Moscow on a one-year deal worth at least $10 million to begin Sept. 1 should a new contract not materialize with the Wild.

The Athletic has reported since mid-June that Kaprizov’s former KHL team would welcome him back with open arms if he can’t reach a deal with Minnesota, but the report tosses a date and an “8-figure” price tag on something Kaprizov’s camp has been threatening the Wild with all offseason.

The Wild, which began contract talks with Kaprizov’s agent Paul Theofanous in March, have long had offers on the table for seven years and eight years in the $9 million range, sources continue to say. That would be by far the richest annual contract in franchise history for the 2021 Calder Trophy winner.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin has indicated for a month that he’s willing to compromise by signing Kaprizov to a mid-range deal believed to be five or six years. However, Guerin still prefers not to sign Kaprizov to three or fewer years because the star forward can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.

Guerin declined to comment Monday night, but the Wild still expect to get a contract consummated with Kaprizov despite the threat continuing to come from Kaprizov’s side.

Theofanous did not respond to a text message Monday night.

As reported by The Athletic for weeks, the two sides remain in constant communication but are in a complete stalemate. The Wild are willing to sign Kaprizov to a contract in the $8 or $9 million range at a variety of terms, but Kaprizov’s camp continues to seek shorter term deals at more money.

A fifth-round pick in 2015, two-time KHL leading goal scorer and 2018 Olympic hero, Kaprizov finally arrived in Minnesota after more than five years this past winter. He led all NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games, and scored two goals and an assist in seven postseason games during the Wild’s first-round playoff exit to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Pressure will now ratchet up as Sept. 1 fast approaches.

Guerin likely doesn’t want to negotiate against himself for a free agent who has no contractual rights (he couldn’t elect arbitration and can’t sign an offer sheet with another team) and only 55 games of NHL experience. But Kaprizov is already considered one of the most talented players in Wild history and a rising star, so do the Wild up the offers, call Kaprizov’s bluff and see if he’d actually return to Russia after finally arriving and delivering in the NHL, or would the Wild even consider trading his rights?

It’s hard to imagine Guerin trading an unsigned Kaprizov, though.

The Wild also continue to negotiate a contract with high-profile restricted free agent . It sounds like there has been some headway lately in talks and the hope is the two sides can settle on a new contract before his Aug. 17 club-elected arbitration hearing. If no contract can be mutually agreed upon, Fiala can choose between a one- or a two-year award from the neutral arbitrator.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219226 Nashville Predators The bottom six will look slightly different with the departures of Erik Haula and Brad Richardson. If Granlund remains the second-line center, then Cody Glass could start underneath him with Nick Cousins and Tanner Predators roster projection: What their opening-night lineup could (and Jeannot on the wings. Jeannot in particular has a lot to prove after being should) look like protected over several veteran forwards in the Seattle expansion draft last month.

Yakov Trenin, Colton Sissons and Mathieu Olivier were a solid fourth line By Adam Vingan last season, outscoring opponents 5-3 and often starting games to set the tone. Aug 9, 2021 On defense, Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm will continue to anchor the

left side. Ben Harpur, who is a replacement-level player at best, is Opening night in the NHL is more than two months away, but it is not too unpopular with many Predators fans, but he will enter training camp as early to predict what the Predators’ lineup could look like on Oct. 14 the favorite to win the third-pairing job after appearing in 34 regular- when they host the Seattle Kraken. season games and five playoff games.

There is also the question of what the lineup should look like based on Right-handers Alexandre Carrier, Dante Fabbro and Philippe Myers will the significant changes made by Predators general manager work together to replace Ryan Ellis and his heavy workload in all in response to the team’s repeated playoff failures. situations. Matt Benning, who at 27 is the oldest of the group, will also be part of the rotation. Here are two projections, starting with the more realistic version: Juuse Saros made great strides last season, but he does not have Pekka What the Predators’ opening night lineup could look like Rinne by his side anymore. It will be interesting to see how Saros responds to the loss of his retired mentor and if it has any effect on his LEFT WING/LEFT DEFENSE CENTER/RIGHT DEFENSE RIGHT play. WING/GOALIE What the Predators’ opening night lineup should look like Filip Forsberg (26) LEFT WING/LEFT DEFENSE CENTER/RIGHT DEFENSE RIGHT Ryan Johansen (29) WING/GOALIE Matt Duchene (30) Filip Forsberg (26) (22) Ryan Johansen (29) Mikael Granlund (29) Eeli Tolvanen (22) Luke Kunin (23) Mikael Granlund (29) Nick Cousins (28) Cody Glass (22) Cody Glass (22) Philip Tomasino (20) Tanner Jeannot (24) Rem Pitlick (24) Yakov Trenin (24) Matt Duchene (30) Colton Sissons (27) Luke Kunin (23) Mathieu Olivier (24) Yakov Trenin (24) Roman Josi (31) Colton Sissons (27) Alexandre Carrier (24) Tanner Jeannot (24) Juuse Saros (26) Roman Josi (31) Mattias Ekholm (31) Alexandre Carrier (24) Philippe Myers (24) Juuse Saros (26) David Rittich (28) Mattias Ekholm (31) Ben Harpur (26) Philippe Myers (24) Dante Fabbro (23) David Rittich (28) Coaches like continuity, so it would not be surprising if Jeremy Davies (24)/David Farrance (22) started the season by leaning on established partnerships, such as Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen on the top line. The two had success with Dante Fabbro (23) Matt Duchene during the playoffs, controlling 64 percent of expected goals, according to MoneyPuck. Since it appears that the Predators are The Predators are probably no better than a borderline playoff team in stuck with Johansen and Duchene, they might as well put their highest- the Central Division next season, so their focus should be on giving key paid forwards in positions to succeed. roles to young players. Management should view the upcoming season as a transition year; reaching the playoffs for the eighth consecutive Mikael Granlund, who signed a four-year, $20 million contract on the first season should be secondary to evaluating the up-and-comers in the day of free agency, and Luke Kunin developed a bond last season on the organization and determining who should be part of the future. second line. But their linemate, Calle Jarnkrok, is no longer on the team. Hynes could choose to move right winger Eeli Tolvanen, who shoots left- That means loading the top six with young offensive talent. Glass, for handed, to his natural side to fill the void. example, should be given the opportunity to center the second line instead of Granlund, who can return to the wing. Rookies Jeremy Davies If the Predators decide to seek outside help on the wing, then it would and David Farrance gaining valuable experience on the third defensive probably have to come via trade. There are few top-six wingers still left in pair is also more important than trotting out Harpur for 15 minutes per free agency; Tomas Tatar, a consistent 20-goal scorer, was the best game. available before signing a two-year deal with the New Jersey Devils last week. The cancellation of the 2020-21 OHL season was a blessing in disguise for top prospect Philip Tomasino. He turned heads with 32 points in 29 AHL games, which was third among rookies. A spot on one of the top two lines should be reserved for him.

“His development process has been right (in) line with what we would have projected when we drafted him, if not better,” Predators assistant GM Jeff Kealty said last month. “We feel he’s knocking on the door. Like we always say, we want to do what’s right for his long-term development and his career, so we’ll manage that the right way, but we do feel that he’s right there and are certainly hoping that he can make a good impact on our team here in Nashville this season.”

This lineup features 11 skaters who are 24 or younger, which is the way to go if the Predators are truly serious about rebooting the franchise.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219227 New York Islanders

Islanders' Barry Trotz named an assistant coach for Canada's Olympic team in 2022

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinSNewsday

Updated August 9, 2021 4:36 PM

Islanders coach Barry Trotz has been named as an assistant coach for the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team for the Beijing Games in 2022.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, who guided the Lightning to the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons, is the head coach for the team. Trotz, Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy and Vegas Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer are the assistants.

Trotz, a two-time winner of the Jack Adams Award for the NHL’s Coach of the Year, will be going to his first Olympic Games, though he has coached for Canada in other international competitions. He has served as an assistant for Canada at the World Championships on four occasions, winning a gold medal in 2003 and a silver in 2009. He also was an assistant for Canada when they won the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

Trotz is 115-67-24 in three seasons as the Islanders' coach and has led the team to the playoffs in each season, reaching the Stanley Cup semifinals in 2021 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2020. He won his second Jack Adams Award in 2019 after his first season with the Isles.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219228 New York Islanders especially when it comes to free agency. As we already know, most long- term contracts signed in free agency tend to end in a buyout or a trade. (NBCSN)

Ovechkin Goes Digital, Nilsson Retires & More The NHL free-agency frenzy of 2021 started 27 days later than the usual opening day of July 1, but it was as wild as any in recent memory, with more than $500 million spent on deals on the first day alone. A number of Published 19 hours ago on August 9, 2021 valuable players remain who have yet to make their decisions — and potential franchise-altering trades for Jack Eichel and Vladimir Tarasenko By Stefen Rosner are still possible as well. But after the first big wave, here is where things stand for all 32 teams. (ESPN)

The New York Islanders locked up defenseman Adam Pelech a few days ago but since then no other signings have been announced. But that NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 08.10.2021 doesn’t mean the NHL world has stopped.

Here are today’s daily links!

Could new Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort find himself riding shotgun with Charlie McAvoy to start the 2021-22 regular season? Training camp is still a month away but Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy already admitted that it’s no guarantee the Terriers connection of Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy remain the Bruins’ top pairing this coming season. (Boston Hockey Now)

Trading for Ryan Ellis kicked off a flurry of activity this offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers. It was the first of several moves to change the course of the team in more ways than one. After a very disappointing season, changes needed to be made –– and they were. And his contract makes the move even better. (Philly Hockey Now)

The Great 8 is going digital. Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is officially launching his own NFT collection that fittingly drops on August 8 (8/8). Ovechkin teamed up with Ethernity Chain and Impossible Brief for the new collection. Ethernity explains that the collection, “showcases the major accomplishments, signature gear and proud Russian heritage of one of the greatest hockey players to ever grace the rink.” (Washington Hockey Now)

The Boston Bruins were among the few NHL teams to opt for a development camp during this shortened offseason. It’s also providing a development that’s of interest to Detroit Red Wings fans. If there was any doubt that Keith Petruzzelli’s time as a Red Wings prospect was over and done with, the telling evidence was right there in black and white. (Detroit Hockey Now)

Pat Maroon said “there’s no doubt in my mind” the Tampa Bay Lightning can win the Stanley Cup for a third consecutive season. “I truly think we can run it back again,” the Lightning forward told The Athletic on Friday. (NHL)

Anders Nilsson retired from hockey Sunday. The 31-year-old goalie had not played since Dec. 16, 2019, for the Ottawa Senators because of post-concussion syndrome.”My post-concussion symptoms and neck problems make it impossible for me to continue as a professional goalie,” Nilsson said on Instagram. “Obviously not the way I wanted my career to end, but I got to achieve my dream as a kid to play in the NHL and represent my home country Sweden on the world stage. (NHL)

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog for the past nine years. Douglas joined NHL.com in March 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Dean Barnes and his collection of hockey cards featuring Black players. Dean Barnes used Canada’s coronavirus pandemic lockdown last year to resume a childhood hobby. (NHL)

Our Seven Questions series opened last week focusing on a critical approaching season for Pierre-Luc Dubois in Winnipeg and a new-look blue line in Calgary. Today, we head to Ottawa and ask a simple question: Is the goaltending healthy enough to deliver a playoff team next season? (TSN)

The Edmonton Oilers have signed goaltender Stuart Skinner to a two- year, two-way contract worth $750,000 per season, the team announced on Sunday. Skinner, 22, made 33 saves for the victory in his only start with the Oilers last season. (TSN)

Even with a relatively flat salary cap for the foreseeable future NHL teams have not been shy about handing out significant long-term contracts this offseason. Since July 1 there have been 15 contracts (re- signings and free agent signings) signed that are at least five years in length and carrying a salary cap hit of more than $5 million per season. There is always some risk with that in a salary cap environment, 1219229 started 16 of the next 20 contests following his return to assuage concerns over the goaltender’s durability.

The latest on Jack Eichel consists of no more than the ongoing blizzard Rangers agree to historic contract with Igor Shesterkin of contradictory tales and innuendo posted on social media, some of which has come from the account of an MSG-Network analyst who is friendly with Drury. By Larry Brooks The Post reported via Twitter on Friday that the GM last week had been August 9, 2021 | 3:21pm | Updated telling agents that he had never expressed serious interest in trading for Buffalo’s disaffected center and could not understand why the Rangers

have been consistently linked to Eichel. This is what is called a win-win deal. The Rangers get their presumptive franchise goaltender at a price point that will give the club some critical breathing space under the cap for the immediate future while Igor New York Post LOADED: 08.10.2021 Shesterkin is compensated grandly with the opportunity to maximize his worth on the open market in four years.

The agreement reached on Monday between the 25-year-old netminder and the Blueshirts is for four years at an average annual value (AAV) of just under $5.667 million per year. In an environment where every $250,000 saved is worth its weight in cap gold, this is a solid number for general manager .

But the term and the structure of the agreement work at least equally as well for Shesterkin, whose play in his official rookie season grew stronger as the year progressed and as the Russian became comfortable with his status as Henrik Lundqvist’s heir. And by the way, so does the money, this deal representing the largest second contract for a goaltender in NHL history, eclipsing Sergei Bobrovsky’s $5.625 million per for two years with Columbus in 2013.

The contract covers two years under restricted free agency and two years of unrestricted free agency. For comparison sake, Detroit’s 25- year-old Alex Nedeljkovic just signed a two-year deal for $3 million per after posting better numbers for Carolina last year. And the Flyers’ Carter Hart just signed a three-year second contract for an AAV of $3.979 million. So yes, this represents a great deal of money for Shesterkin, who has made a total of 43 career starts.

Igor Shesterkin

Not only will the charismatic netminder be eligible for unrestricted free agency as a 29-year-old in 2025, but the deal is backloaded so that Shesterkin will receive a $2 million base (plus a $1 million signing bonus) this upcoming season when escrow will be set at 17 or 18 percent; a $6 million base in 2022-23 when escrow will be 10 percent; a $5 million base (plus a $2 million signing bonus) in 2023-24 and then a $6.667 million base in each of the final two seasons when escrow is capped at 6 percent.

But the Rangers kept the number under $6 million and under the $7 million (at least) that would have accompanied a deal of six years or longer. Short-term objectives were achieved. As a result, and with all of the compulsory offseason work completed, Drury has approximately $6 million of space with which to maneuver entering the season.

Looking ahead a season when the crunch will come, the deal also commits the Rangers to $40.2 million in cap obligations for seven players — Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Lindgren and Ryan Reaves — for 2022-23. That of course does not account for Adam Fox’s anticipated minimum $9 million or either a first- or second-line center. If you figure another $15 million or so for the centers, that adds up to around $64.2 million for 10 players.

Though the fate of backup Alexandar Georgiev remains uncertain coming off a poor season that surely has diminished his trade value, signing Shesterkin essentially completes Drury’s work on and behind the blue line. The Blueshirts have their No. 1 in nets and a fortified defense that features expected Fox-Lindgren, K’Andre Miller-Trouba and Patrik Nemeth-Nils Lundkvist tandems, with Jarred Tinordi as the seventh man and Libor Hajek, Braden Schneider, Matt Robertson and Zac Jones likely ticketed for roles off-Broadway.

Shesterkin, whose January 2020 promotion from the AHL Wolf Pack triggered the Blueshirts’ surge to the summer-tournament bubble in Toronto, finished fifth in voting for the Calder in going 16-14-3 with a 2.62 GAA and .916 save percentage with upper-echelon peripherals.

And after being sidelined for injuries three times his first season, including those sustained in an automobile accident, and then missing three weeks and 10 games due to a groin injury this March, Shesterkin 1219230 New York Rangers

Rangers sign Igor Shesterkin to a four-year deal

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinSNewsday

Updated August 9, 2021 5:50 PM

Rangers GM Chris Drury continued checking off items on his lengthy list of offseason business Monday when he signed goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a four-year deal that Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported to be the largest ever given to a goaltender on his second contract, in both total dollars and average annual salary.

According to Seravalli, the deal is worth $22.666 million, which averages out to $5.66 million per season. Shesterkin, 25, was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but he declined to file for arbitration.

According to CapFriendly, signing Shesterkin puts the Rangers’ salary cap hit for 2021-22 at $72.678 million, leaving them with a projected $8.82 million in available space under the $81.5 million cap. The number includes 24 players – one more than the 23-man roster allowed – and does not include the team’s lone remaining RFA, defenseman Libor Hajek.

With those numbers, the Rangers would not have enough cap space to accommodate disgruntled Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel – at least, not without sending significant salary back to Buffalo in any deal. Eichel is under contract for five more years at an average annual salary of $10 million.

With Shesterkin now locked up, a trade for Eichel looking less and less likely, and with all the other player acquisitions Drury made this summer – trading for and then signing forwards Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves; signing free agent defensemen Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi – the Rangers roster looks pretty well set for the new season. That should allow Drury to focus on some of the other things on his summer to-do list, such as finalizing the coaching staff under , hiring an assistant general manager, and working on contract extensions for No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox.

A 6-2, 182-pound native of Moscow, Shesterkin was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NHL draft and was considered the heir apparent to franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist as the Rangers’ No. 1 goaltender. Shesterkin came over from Russia in 2019 and started his first North American season in the minor leagues, with Hartford. But he dominated the AHL, prompting the Rangers to call him up in midseason.

After Shesterkin went 10-2 following his callup, the club bought Lundqvist out of the final year of his contract last offseason. In 2020-21, Shesterkin played in 35 games, going 16-14-3, with a 2.62 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and two shutouts. In his two seasons with the Blueshirts, he is 26-16-3, with a 2.59 GAA, .921 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219231 New York Rangers The list of expected attendees includes Rangers Stanley Cup champ Mike Richter, cancer survivor Brian Boyle, Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Martin St. Louis, Charlie McAvoy, Colin Blackwell, Why former Ranger Dominic Moore has such a passion for table tennis Spencer Knight, Trevor Zegras, Alexander Kerfoot, Connor Clifton, Jack and charity Rathbone, John Hayden, Connor Carrick, Patrick Sharp, Ryan Shannon and broadcasters Kathryn Tappen and A.J. Mleczko.

Also in attendance will be a special guest: Mark Carles, 27, of Staten By Rick Carpiniello Island, who was diagnosed with fibrolamellar at 24.

Aug 9, 2021 “It’ll be unforgettable for him, it’ll be unforgettable for me, and for the players who get to meet him,” Moore said. “Obviously, it’s a huge

reminder on what we’re doing in the event, why we’re raising awareness Athletes, by nature, are passionate people. Sometimes that passion turns and raising money for the cause. That will be a pretty powerful part of the personal. evening, no doubt.”

It happened with Dominic Moore, the longtime NHL player, a two-time There also will be the auction, which includes the center-court table, New York Ranger and the founder of Smashfest, an annual charitable — custom designed by one of the sponsors, Killerspin, and autographed by and quite fun — hockey-celebrity table tennis event. all of the players.

After an eight-year run in Toronto ended because of the pandemic last Moore calls a handful of the NHL players who are especially skilled at year, Smashfest is returning and making its U.S. debut Thursday table tennis “the ringers,” and this year there will be a new champion evening, Aug. 12, at The Loading Dock in Stamford, Conn. because five-time champ Patrick Eaves is unable to defend his title.

The passion? Well, Moore has a lot of reasons to be involved and Moore expects a ton of Rangers fans in Stamford on Thursday, invested. especially after so many traveled to Toronto for previous Smashfests.

The tournament benefits research for rare cancers and concussions. His His role in two tours as a Ranger is often downplayed, but he also could first wife, Katie, died at the age of 31 due to a rare liver cancer, have become a second, smaller version of Stephane Matteau had the fibrolamellar, in January 2013, and Dominic established the Katie Moore Rangers completed their 2014 journey to the Stanley Cup Final with a Foundation in 2016. Dominic’s brother, Steve Moore, saw his career end title. after an attack by Todd Bertuzzi in 2004 in which he suffered neck Moore scored the winning, series-clinching goal in a 1-0 victory over injuries and a concussion. Montreal in the Eastern Conference final to put the Rangers in the Cup “Concussions, it’s really about trying to raise some money for the cause, Final for the first time in 20 years. but also raise awareness,” Dominic Moore said. “That was a big part of it, Matteau’s goal rings louder, of course, because the curse was 54 years and hockey players, if we haven’t been through it ourselves, we’ve had old at the time, and his goal was in double overtime in Game 7, and the teammates that have. Concussions are so poorly understood — there’s Rangers finished the job in the 1994 Cup Final. so much room for improvement. So it was about trying to bring some attention to that and some money to collaborative research on that front. “Unforgettable, obviously,” Moore said of his goal, which came in what some teammates have said was as nearly perfect a playoff game as can “The cancer research got added in after I got more familiar with that, and be played. “That moment for me was unforgettable. Definitely the most the rare cancers in particular. … They’re such a different diagnosis from memorable goal and moment of my career, just the circumstances of it, a common cancer. If you get diagnosed with a rare cancer these days, a what it meant, what it meant for our team, what it meant for Blueshirts lot of times it’s guesswork. A lot of times patients go years without fans. I had such a feeling, too. It was 20 years since ’94, and it didn’t actually getting diagnosed properly. work out for us, but what we did, what we experienced together in 2014 “Then, once they are diagnosed, there are very few treatment options. As was truly special. That was an incredible team to be a part of, for sure. fantastic as it is that we’ve made so much headway in treating common Obviously, I’ve gotten a lot of loyal Rangers fans that will always cancers, the rare cancers are pretty far behind. It makes perfect sense remember and share that moment with me. It means a lot to me. because there’s not as much research dollars behind those cancers … “It really was almost perfect. The save that Hank (Henrik Lundqvist) so we tried to put together a research platform and we partnered with the made, where he reacted, going backward (to stop a Thomas Vanek shot Broad Institute (of MIT and Harvard) to do something for rare cancers, that deflected off Dan Girardi), I mean, that was truly special. Those and it’s become a model project. It’s all about kind of open-source things stand out in my mind. It was fun during the pandemic, NHL information sharing, collaborative research to try to improve the lot for Network re-aired that game and Brian Boyle and I and Kreids watched it rare cancers. and commented over it, and it was fun to do. “The other thing about it is a quarter — at least a quarter; it depends on “The fact that we got right back to the 2015 conference finals against who you ask — of all cancers are rare cancers. So when you add up all Tampa, Game 7, proved that we were a special team. We didn’t the rare cancers together, they make up at least a quarter, even though accomplish what we wanted to, but we were an elite team for a few years the individual diseases, there can be just a fraction or a handful or a few in a row.” dozen around the country. That’s something I’m passionate about, and through Smashfest and through all the collaboration of putting the event Kreider, Boyle, St. Louis and Moore were on that team. On Thursday, together we’ve been able to raise over $1 million.” they’ll be playing for different stakes and against one another.

Moore said that the concussion portion of the event isn’t just about his brother but also about the scourge of the modern athlete. The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 “For sure, he’s dealt with that and he has a foundation that is trying to support and bring money to that cause, and that’s where the money we put toward the concussion research goes. At the same time, it’s such a prevalent thing for all athletes, and not only athletes, but as we’ve become aware of it all — the CTE and it impacts first responders and some of our military personnel. It’s amazing how often I hear from parents, whose kids are dealing with concussions and are having a really hard time, that are supporting the event.”

So Moore has invited a whole bunch of hockey friends to bat around a little white ball with fans to raise money Thursday, a night that will include gourmet meals, an open bar, a live auction and a chance to play with and against the hockey celebs. 1219232 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators reach an ECHL agreement with the Atlanta Gladiators for the upcoming season

Bruce Garrioch

The Ottawa Senators have found a new home for some of their prospects.

After losing their affiliation when the ECHL’s Brampton Beast closed up shop during the pandemic, Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed Monday the club has signed an agreement with the Atlanta Gladiators.

Atlanta will be a spot the Senators can send players who don’t fit into their lineup with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville. It’s a one year agreement because the Senators likely want to see how this works out with getting players to Atlanta and into Belleville.

“We’re pleased to partner with the Gladiators and to have Atlanta serve as our ECHL affiliate next season,” said Dorion. “Our prospects who spend time in the ECHL in 2021-22 will be well served under a coaching staff led by Jeff Pyle who we know will positively impact our players’ development.”

Naturally, with five goalies in the organization, including Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg, Filip Gustavsson, Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese, the Senators need a place to send their organization. A sixth netminder, Leevi Merilainen, will suit up for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.

Gustavsson is a restricted free agent and needs to be signed to a new deal but the expectation is that will happen before training camp. He could spend his time between and Belleville in Ottawa next season. The belief is Mandolese will have to start the season in the ECHL after seeing only limited playing time next season.

Atlanta had served as the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins from 2015- to-2020 but opted out of playing last season because of COVID-19 pandemic. The Gladiators make their home in Duluth, Ga.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219233 Ottawa Senators Cole Reinhardt 21

3 years, $813k AAV Senators organizational depth chart: A comprehensive guide for the present and future at every position Viktor Lodin

22

By Ian Mendes Aug 9, 2021 3 years, $830k AAV

Jakov Novak

One of the things I’ve had on my summer bucket list for Ottawa Senators 22 coverage was to put together a comprehensive depth chart for the entire organization. Unsigned

I want to take an in-depth look at all 57 players who are currently under Oliver Johansson Ottawa’s umbrella and analyze their standing within the club. Since we’ve 18 reached a rather quiet part of the hockey news cycle, I figured this would be the perfect time to drop this column. Unsigned

Before we start, there are a couple of things to note when looking at this Eric Engstrand depth chart. 21 The most important factor to consider is that this depth chart is based on the likelihood of players appearing in games at the NHL level this Unsigned season. A player like Jake Sanderson, for example, will obviously end up Vitali Abramov slotting much higher down the road. But his standing on this depth chart reflects that he’s an unsigned NCAA prospect. Once he signs his deal, 23 he’ll likely rocket up the depth chart behind Thomas Chabot. RFA Unsigned players who have no chance of playing in Ottawa this season There is an argument to be made this is Ottawa’s greatest position of — whether it’s Tyler Boucher or Vitali Abramov — are slotted at the very bottom of their respective positions. It’s also worth considering this depth strength, especially when you consider Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle chart could drastically change if Ottawa executes a trade in the weeks should be locked into the top two spots for the foreseeable future. If Alex Formenton develops as planned, he should also have one of those spots ahead. But for now, this should give everybody a very accurate picture of secured as a bottom-six left winger. That could make life difficult for a what the entire roster looks like from top to bottom. prospect like Jarventie to grab a spot someday — especially if Nick Paul This depth chart should provide Ottawa fans with an opportunity to see signs an extension and remains on the left side. where certain players may eventually slot in as well. It should also give Parker Kelly is also an intriguing player to watch. While he’s naturally a you an idea of how some highly touted prospects like Roby Jarventie or centre, he likely projects out as a winger at the NHL level. He was given Tyler Kleven could have a hard time cracking the lineup. a chance to play in the regular season finale against Toronto in May and I’ll break down each position before ending this column with one big responded with a goal. He certainly fits the mold of the identity Ottawa is depth chart that reflects the entire organization’s players in one place. trying to create, so don’t be surprised if he sees some time at the NHL level this season. Left wing depth chart The Senators also retain the rights to Abramov, but after signing a two- Brady Tkachuk year contract in the KHL this summer, his NHL future is clouded at best.

21 Centre depth chart

RFA Josh Norris

Tim Stützle 22

19 1 year, $925k AAV

2 years, $925k AAV Shane Pinto

Nick Paul 20

26 2 years, $925k AAV

1 year, $1.35 M AAV Colin White

Alex Formenton 24

21 4 years, $4.75 M AAV

1 year, $747k AAV Chris Tierney

Parker Kelly 27

22 1 year, $3.6 M AAV

1 year, $726k AAV Logan Brown

Roby Jarventie 23

19 RFA

3 years $925k AAV Ridly Greig

Angus Crookshank 19

21 3 years, $894k AAV

3 years, $838k AAV Andrew Agozzino 30 1 year, $750k AAV

1 year, $800k AAV Egor Sokolov

Clark Bishop 21

25 2 years, $818k AAV

1 year, $800k AAV Kole Sherwood

Logan Shaw 24

28 1 year, $750k AAV

1 year, $725k AAV Tyler Boucher

Mark Kastelic 18

22 Unsigned

2 years, $821k AAV Carson Latimer

Zack Ostapchuk 18

18 Unsigned

Unsigned Luke Loheit

Phillipe Daoust 21

19 Unsigned

Unsigned This position suddenly looks thin at the NHL level after Evgenii Dadonov was traded to Vegas. Connor Brown deserves full credit for establishing This position probably has the most question marks at the forward himself as a dependable and productive right winger who has earned the position and it certainly feels like this depth chart could be altered before second slotting behind Drake Batherson on the right side. the start of training camp. If the Senators are adamant about adding a veteran centre at the top of the lineup, it will probably bump Shane Pinto Austin Watson is currently third on the depth chart, which is probably a down the ladder — and possibly to the AHL to start next season. The touch high for a player who has only scored 16 goals over the past three clock appears to be ticking on Chris Tierney’s time in Ottawa, but seasons combined (124 games). Ideally, Watson will occupy the fourth- whether or not the Senators can engineer a trade involving the veteran line spot on the right side, so it makes you wonder if the Senators are centre before the start of training camp remains to be seen. going to add a veteran right winger in the weeks ahead.

Once again, Logan Brown is knocking on the door for a full-time NHL job Egor Sokolov could have a legitimate chance of making the opening — a narrative that has probably become tiresome for both the player and night roster if the club doesn’t make any further additions to the right the club. The 23-year-old is loaded with talent, but a rash of injuries have side. Sokolov may be better served, however, following the development stunted his growth at the professional level. If the Senators don’t make curve of a player like Batherson, who spent 90 games at the AHL level another move at centre, it’s plausible that Brown can battle for a job in before he was a fixture in Ottawa’s lineup. Sokolov appeared to gain training camp, but he would need to leapfrog at least one player on the traction as the AHL season unfolded last year, ending the campaign with depth chart. 15 goals in 35 games with Belleville.

The front office appears very high on Ridly Greig, especially after he Pontus Aberg could also push for a job out of training camp if the status looked comfortable in his seven-game audition with the Belleville quo remains; his 132 games of NHL experience could help him in that Senators last season. The organization probably feels like he’s ready for regard. Looking at this depth chart, it’s not hard to envision a right side the professional game, but since he didn’t appear in 20 AHL games last that features Batherson, Sokolov and 2021 first-round pick Boucher in season, the CHL-NHL transfer agreement stipulates Greig will have to the not-too-distant future. return to Brandon in the WHL if he doesn’t make the Ottawa roster out of training camp. It’s probably a bit much to expect Greig to knock down the Left defence depth chart door and steal a centre job in training camp in Ottawa, but stranger Thomas Chabot things have happened. Mike Fisher shocked everybody by cracking the Senators lineup as a 19-year-old during the 1999-2000 season, so there 24 is some precedent for what Greig is trying to accomplish. 7 years, $8 M AAV If there are some injuries at the centre position during the regular season, Michael Del Zotto it’s likely that Andrew Agozzino and Clark Bishop will be the depth call- ups from Belleville. 31

Right wing depth chart 2 years, $2 M AAV

Drake Batherson Victor Mete

23 23

RFA 1 year, $1.2 M AAV

Connor Brown Nick Holden

27 34

2 years, $3.6 M AAV 1 year, $1.7 M AAV

Austin Watson Erik Brannstrom

29 21

2 years, $1.5 M AAV 1 year, $863k AAV

Pontus Aberg Jake Sanderson

27 19 Unsigned 3 years, $813k AAV

Dillon Heatherington Ben Roger

26 18

1 year, $750k AAV Unsigned

Jonathan Aspirot This side of the blue line is certainly less cluttered, but there are still many questions heading into this season. If Holden ends up sliding over 22 to the right side on a regular basis, it will probably help balance things 2 years, $768k AAV out. Del Zotto has also talked about his comfort level playing on the right side, so that is also an option to keep in mind. But D.J. Smith has been Tyler Kleven fairly reluctant to put mobile, puck-moving defencemen on their off-side, so it seems more plausible that Holden would be on the right as opposed 19 to Del Zotto. Unsigned Jacob Bernard-Docker is a smooth-skating defender, but given the way Olle Alsing he was deployed after signing his entry-level deal last spring, it seems like he’s destined to start this season in Belleville. It wouldn’t be shocking 25 to see Lassi Thomson earn some NHL games this season, as the club appears pleased with his development under Troy Mann in the AHL. RFA The biggest question will be which of these defencemen ends up being This is a crowded picture, to say the least. And the logjam will only Chabot’s regular partner this season. Smith is a fan of Nikita Zaitsev’s intensify once Sanderson signs his entry-level contract and turns pro, hard-nosed style, but Artem Zub may also serve as a terrific complement which will likely happen at some point this spring. to Chabot on the right side. It feels like the Senators are done adding to Just as the Senators feel confident with their one-two punch of Tkachuk their blue line, so Chabot’s partner is somewhere on this list. If we project and Stützle as left wingers, they feel equally certain about Chabot and out a couple of years, it seems like the Chabot/Bernard-Docker pairing Sanderson leading the charge on the left side of the defence. It’s might be ideal — but the odds of seeing it on a regular basis this season abundantly clear that the left side of this hockey club will be its strength if seems fairly low at this point. everybody develops and hits their respective ceilings. A prospect like Goaltender depth chart Kleven, for example, could face some significant hurdles trying to carve out a spot on the left side in the future. Matt Murray

But for the upcoming season, watching this left side of the defence take 27 shape will be one of the most intriguing storylines in Ottawa. After signing Michael Del Zotto to a two-year, $2 million AAV contract, he’ll likely slot in 3 years, $6.25 M AAV as the No. 2 defenceman behind Chabot. After that, it’s a complete coin Anton Forsberg flip — although it’s worth mentioning that Nick Holden is very comfortable playing the right side of the blue line. It feels like there will only be room 28 for one of Erik Brannstrom and Victor Mete to be in the lineup at any given time and considering Brannstrom can still be sent down to the AHL 1 year, $900k AAV without clearing waivers, it probably bumps him down a spot or two on Filip Gustavsson this depth chart. 23 Given the number of bodies on the left side, it’s unlikely the Senators would need to recall a defenceman this season unless they were totally RFA ravaged by injuries. But if that does come to fruition, the first call may go to Dillon Heatherington, who the club signed this summer after spending Mads Sogaard the past six seasons in the organization. 20

Right defence depth chart 3 years, $925k AAV

Nikita Zaitsev Kevin Mandolese

29 20

3 years, $4.5 M AAV 2 years, $835k AAV

Artem Zub Leevi Merilainen

25 18

2 years, $2.5 M AAV 3 years, $838k AAV

Josh Brown Heading into training camp, this position actually seems straightforward. 27 Matt Murray will start the season as the No. 1 netminder and his strong finish to last season — .954 save percentage and 1.37 GAA in his final 1 year, $1.2 M AAV five games — leaves some optimism that he’s rediscovered his game. If he can stay healthy, Murray should get in the neighbourhood of 50 starts Jacob Bernard-Docker next season.

21 Anton Forsberg is on a one-year contract and the succession plan would 2 years, $925k AAV seemingly include Filip Gustavsson eventually taking over as the No. 2 netminder in Ottawa, perhaps as early as the 2022-23 season. Lassi Thomson Gustavsson will have the opportunity to take the starter’s job in Belleville this season and if he thrives in that role, he may also see some NHL 20 playing time if there are injuries or poor performance issues in Ottawa. 3 years, $863k AAV Mads Sogaard was outstanding in a handful of AHL appearances last season and will likely be pushing Gustavsson for playing time in Max Guenette Belleville. 20 Many were curious where Kevin Mandolese might play this season, but Nikita Zaitsev after the Senators announced an ECHL agreement with Atlanta on Monday, it seems like that’s a perfect landing spot for the young Michael Del Zotto netminder. Artem Zub

Considering the Senators didn’t draft a goalie with their first-round pick Victor Mete this summer, it stands to reason they are confident with their collection of . Josh Brown

After analyzing each position within the organization, some fans may Nick Holden appreciate a complete depth chart all in one place: Jacob Bernard-Docker Complete organizational depth chart Erik Brannstrom Left Wing Lassi Thomson Centre Jake Sanderson Right Wing Max Guenette Brady Tkachuk Dillon Heatherington Josh Norris Ben Roger Drake Batherson Jonathan Aspirot Tim Stützle Tyler Kleven Shane Pinto Olle Alsing Connor Brown Goaltenders Nick Paul Matt Murray Colin White Anton Forsberg Austin Watson Filip Gustavsson Alex Formenton Mads Sogaard Chris Tierney Kevin Mandolese Pontus Aberg Leevi Merilainen Parker Kelly What did you think of this story? Logan Brown MEH Egor Sokolov SOLID Roby Jarventie AWESOME Ridly Greig Ian Mendes Kole Sherwood The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 Angus Crookshank

Andrew Agozzino

Tyler Boucher

Cole Reinhardt

Clark Bishop

Carson Latimer

Viktor Lodin

Logan Shaw

Luke Loheit

Jakov Novak

Mark Kastelic

Oliver Johansson

Zack Ostapchuk

Eric Engstrand

Phillipe Daoust

Vitaly Abramov

Left Defence

Right Defence

Thomas Chabot 1219234 Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers bet on Carter Hart’s upside, sign him to a 3-year contract extension

Hart had a miserable 2021 season in net for the Flyers, but showed flashes of greatness in his previous NHL seasons.

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart struggled last season.

by Sam Carchidi

The Flyers are paying Carter Hart for his potential.

They signed the goaltender to a three-year contract extension Monday that carries an annual cap hit of $3.97 million.

Hart, a restricted free agent who turns 23 Friday, struggled mightily last season, compiling a 3.67 goals-against average and an .877 save percentage. He had a contract with an average annual value of $863,333 last season.

“It definitely feels good to get the deal out of the way and I’m looking forward to a clean slate next year,” Hart said in a Zoom call with the media Monday afternoon.

The Flyers now have about $77.5 million committed to 22 players and must still sign Travis Sanheim. The salary-cap maximum is $81.5 million.

Hart said he was excited about the changes the Flyers had made to the defense this summer, and that he was eager to get started.

He has talked to several of the new additions.

“They seem like beauties,” he said.

Hart said his goalie coaches have targeted certain areas that need improvement, and though he didn’t want to go into specifics, it’s no secret that one of them had to be high shots to the glove side.

A healthy competition with recently signed Martin Jones, Hart said, will help both goalies. “We’ll push each other to be better,” he said.

Hart, who was very good in his first two seasons, and outstanding in the 2020 playoffs, twice mentioned how this season was a clean slate for him and his teammates, that the pandemic-affected 2021 season is in the past.

“I can’t wait for opening night, where it will be a sold-out stadium again,” he said.

The Flyers might go into the season with 22 players, depending on the size of Sanheim’s deal. He is scheduled to go to salary arbitration on Aug. 26.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219235 Philadelphia Flyers candidate to play on this line, and Connor Bunnaman is a dark horse. As for Lindblom, he could end up on any of the four lines.

Defense 1: Ivan Provorov and Ryan Ellis How the rebuilt Flyers might look after their flurry of summer moves | On Comment: The Flyers hope the well-rounded Ellis stabilizes Provorov’s the Fly game, as Matt Niskanen did two seasons ago. Ellis is a lot like Niskanen in that he plays in all situations, but the former is more offensive-minded.

Sam Carchidi Defense 2: Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen

Comment: The Sanheim-Phil Myers pairing had growing pains last season. Ristolainen will bring much more snarl to the pairing and has a Well, that was fun. big shot. Were his frequent defensive miscues in Buffalo a product of having several different partners? We will find out. In a flurry of trades and free-agent signings that was more exciting than their regular-season play, the Flyers will have a new look in 2021-22. Defense 3: Keith Yandle and Justin Braun

General manager , the architect of the much-needed Comment: Two veterans who have been around the block. Yandle will summer remake, said he’s not sure if he will make another move. Even if provide the offense, Braun will provide steady defense and shot-blocking. he doesn’t — Fletcher said his focus now is on re-signing restricted free Cam York could beat out Yandle with a strong training camp, but the agents Carter Hart and Travis Sanheim — he deserves credit for making Flyers give the impression they want York to gain some experience with the coming season interesting. the Phantoms. Yandle has a good chance to run the top power-play unit.

The Flyers, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975, and New Jersey The seventh defenseman? Samuel Morin and recently signed right- Devils are probably the most improved teams in the highly competitive hander Adam Clendening — a second-round pick in 2011 who has 80 Metropolitan Division. NHL games on his resume — are among the candidates.

You’re signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox once a week during Goaltending: Hart is the starter, with Martin Jones as the backup. the offseason. If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and Comment: Hart should benefit from all the defensive changes and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email bounce back from a disastrous season. Jones, signed as a free agent, is ([email protected]) or on Twitter (@broadstbull). Thank you for his backup, but he seems to be trending in the wrong direction. That reading. makes a Hart comeback the Flyers’ most critical story line.

— Sam Carchidi ([email protected]) Things to know

Probable lineup Will “win-now” Flyers be a legit Stanley Cup contender? Probably not. But hopes are high after a smart summer remake. My column. The Flyers will be harder to play against this coming season. They added several players who play with physicality and an edge. Flyers are counting on Jones to rebound and new veterans to solidify a leaky defense. That was much-needed, especially in a division that will probably feature the feisty New York Islanders. Welcome back

But the Flyers still lack speed, and their offense won’t be much better Former Flyers defenseman Jason Smith, 47, has made a long journey unless they get improved play from a handful of players who slumped back to the organization. He was named a Phantoms assistant Monday last season. Their defense, however, appears much stronger than last on coach Ian Laperriere’s staff. season, thanks to the addition of veterans Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Smith played one of his 15 NHL seasons with the Flyers, in 2007-08, Ristolainen, and Keith Yandle. when he served as the team’s 16th captain and helped lead them to the The goaltending? There are questions that need to be answered. (More Eastern Conference finals. later.) He joins the Phantoms after he spent parts of four seasons in the Here is a look at how the team could be set up: . He was an associate coach of the Prince George Cougars from 2019-21 and was the head coach of the Kelowna Line 1: Sean Couturier centering and Cam Atkinson Rockets for parts of three seasons.

Comment: Atkinson might end up on a line with former Boston College Before his time in the WHL, Smith was with the Ottawa Senators teammate Kevin Hayes, but he has a shoot-first mentality and would organization from 2012-16. He was named scouting and development benefit from the passing of Giroux and Couturier. Atkinson, 32, had 41 consultant for Ottawa before the 2012-13 season and was named an goals in the last full NHL season, 2018-19. The Flyers would gladly settle assistant coach of the Senators before the 2014-15 season. for 25 to 30. Riley Armstrong, 36, former head coach of the ECHL’s Maine Mariners, Line 2: Hayes centering Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny was also named a Phantoms assistant.

Comment: Hayes played injured for part of last season — he had core- Important dates muscle surgery in May — and managed 12 goals in 55 games, but tallied just once in the season’s last 21 contests. Now healthy, he should Late August: Flyers development camp in Voorhees; dates to be rebound. The Flyers also need Konecny (11 goals) to bounce back. determined. Farabee is coming off a breakthrough season (team-high 20 goals). Sept. 22: Tentative date for the start of training camp in Voorhees. Line 3: Scott Laughton centering James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison Sept. 28: Flyers start their preseason schedule by facing the New York Comment: Allison showed lots of promise (4 goals, 3 assists) in his 14 Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center. games with the Flyers last season and is a prototypical power forward. Oct. 15: Flyers open the regular season by hosting Vancouver. Laughton is a cerebral, two-way player who plays with a relentless style, while van Riemsdyk is a dependable scorer who does most of his From the mailbag damage in front. Question: Is there anyone in the organization that you see who can turn Line 4: Morgan Frost or Nate Thompson centering Oskar Lindblom and some heads? Any young names ready to make an impact this coming Nic Aube-Kubel season? — Ron Zacconi (@RonZacconi via Twitter)

Comment: By signing the 6-foot-1, 207-pound Thompson, it appears the Answer: To me, right winger Wade Allison will be that player. He has the Flyers will use him because of his penalty-killing ability and his size. That size, hockey smarts, and a good shot and should be a vital part of this means he will likely center the fourth line unless Frost, who is coming off team. Cam York, a puck-moving defender, has a higher upside and could shoulder surgery, excels at training camp. Tanner Laczynski is also a also make his mark soon, though I don’t expect him to be called up until later in the season.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219236 Philadelphia Flyers And the teams here, to one degree or another, kept getting that call wrong. None of those six players was or has been able to establish any staying power with the organization that drafted him. At best, you saw flashes of marvelous play from Wentz and Simmons. At your most Carson Wentz, Ben Simmons, Mickey Moniak, more: This is Philly’s era optimistic, you could evaluate Patrick or Bohm with a Well, let’s wait and of missed opportunity see how he develops. At worst, you looked at Fultz and Moniak and saw they didn’t have a chance.

Three of them — Wentz, Fultz, and Patrick — are already gone. Another, Mike Sielski Simmons, is likely to be. Another, Moniak, is already regarded as a bust. Bohm was up last season and has been down this season. If any of these four teams wins a championship in the near future, it will, in all The only person who has prevented this last half-decade of Philadelphia likelihood, do so in spite of these players’ presences and contributions, sports from being a catastrophic failure — of high expectations unmet, of not because of them. The next time someone asks why Philadelphia patience unrewarded, of promises unkept — is Nick Foles. An sports fans so often keep their eyes to the sky for the plummeting anvil, overstatement? Of course. But the more that the Eagles’ victory in Super refer him or her to the ‘16-18 drafts. Then fire up YouTube, grab a pint of Bowl LII recedes into the distance of history and memory, the more that butter pecan or a tall glass of something strong, and settle in for a good, the years since seem a cosmic measure of comeuppance for the city’s long, sentimental weepfest. sports fans, a cruel karmic joke punishing them for experiencing something so refreshing, so joyous, so fleeting. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.10.2021

Yes, you can have your sports miracle, Philadelphia. You can have the backup quarterback/all-around swell guy win you your first … and against the best QB and coach of all time, to boot. You can all be bit players in a real-life Rocky script. You can all be Gazzo at ringside, casting aside your cynicism and buying into the underdog story. And in return, there will be agony and disappointment. Have fun replaying that YouTube clip of the Philly Special into perpetuity.

If it weren't for Nick Foles' marvelous performance in Super Bowl LII, what would Philadelphia sports fans have had to cheer about over the last five years?

The latest reminder of how marvelous this period might have been, and how underwhelming it has turned out to be, came Monday, with the revelation that Carson Wentz would undergo foot surgery and miss 5-12 weeks of action for the . The surgery, according to Colts head coach and former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, stems from an injury — a broken bone in Wentz’s left foot — that might trace back to his high school career.

Now, there are short-term ramifications for the Eagles that are directly tied to Wentz’s absence and health. Per the terms of their trade with Indianapolis, they get a draft pick that, based on the number of snaps that Wentz plays this season, will be either a first- or second-rounder. But that detail is less relevant to the big-picture view of this period in Philadelphia sports than the fact that Wentz is having surgery at all.

Even if the sequence of events that led the Eagles’ decision to trade him — the drafting of Jalen Hurts, Wentz’s poor play last season, his dissatisfaction with the franchise — had never unfolded, even if Wentz were still here, there’s a decent chance this injury would have surfaced anyway. And instead of I-told-you-so’ing the Colts, Eagles fans would be lamenting that their franchise quarterback was dealing with another damaged body part and proving too brittle to count on over the long term.

Either way, Wentz’s career would fit with the theme that has defined this era around here. The Eagles, the Sixers, the Phillies, the Flyers: All of them embarked on rebuilding processes to varying lengths, and while the Eagles can cite 41-33 as validation that their process worked, their steady regression since and Wentz’s acrimonious departure have cast that championship more as a fluke than as a stroke of genius.

What binds these four franchises at this time is that they had opportunities to get great and stay great, and they haven’t fulfilled those opportunities. From 2016 through 2018, they had six top-three draft picks: Wentz, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Mickey Moniak, Nolan Patrick, and Alec Bohm. The teams came by those shots at glory through plans that, on paper and provided they were carried out properly, made sense: The Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers broke themselves down for the sake of building themselves back up again, collecting high draft picks so they could acquire terrific young talent. The Eagles targeted Wentz as a quarterback prospect too enticing to pass up, then made two major trades to position themselves to draft him.

Those are picks that are supposed to turn into players who are supposed to turn into superstars, and though there’s plenty of luck and good fortune involved in the success or failure of such decisions, at its core the exercise rises and falls on a single, simple determination. Use “analytics.” Use “the eye test.” Use whatever combination of information and instinct you want. The final call always comes down to an evaluator saying one of two things: That guy has it. … That guy doesn’t. 1219237 Philadelphia Flyers "They're on the same page," Hart said of his two-coach team. "They teach the same game. It might not be worded the same way, but they get along and they're on the same page."

Flyers give Carter Hart new three-year contract Despite appreciating Brian Elliott's locker room leadership, the Flyers, noting their overall 3.46 GAA (29th out of 31 teams) last season, opted to not sign the 36-year-old Elliott this summer. Unrestricted free agent Martin Jones, 31, was signed to a one-year, $2 million contract on July By Rob Parent 28, winning the job over presumed top candidate Braden Holtby, a training partner and friend of Hart's.

Carter Hart came off his worst season as a pro in May outwardly Holtby wound up signing an identical contract with the Dallas Stars retaining the confidence that had made him one of the NHL's best shortly after Jones signed with the Flyers. goaltending prospects. It remains to be seen if that translates to better "I've heard great things about Jonesy and I'm looking forward to meeting performances on the ice. him here soon," Hart said. "That's what you want. You want to have a In the spirit of that waiting game, then, the Flyers issued a financial vote good competition between the two (goalies). Me and Jonesy will push of confidence themselves, announcing Monday that Hart had agreed to a each other to be better in practice and off the ice. I think that's only three-year, $11.9 million contract. Hart had been a pending restricted healthy." free agent who had been offered a qualifying offer worth a five percent Signing Hart leaves the Flyers at a bit over $4 million in payroll cap salary hike for one year. Instead, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher space, with restricted free agent Travis Sanheim, who was also offered a found enough room under the payroll cap to reach an equitable deal with qualifying offer, still without a new deal. Hart's representatives. Delaware County Times LOADED: 08.10.2021 That said, Hart – statistically the worst NHL starting goalie last season, his 9-11-5 mark in 27 appearances with a 3.67 goals-against average and .877 saves percentage ranking well below even a significant number of backup goalies – has plenty left to prove to reach what many perceive as his potential.

That's true both on the Wells Fargo Center ice and in the bank. Hart's $3.97 million average annual salary places him 22nd among league goalies.

Oops, this just in: Just a few hours after Hart's deal was announced, the New York Rangers ponied up a four-year contract worth $22.66 million for 25-year-old goalie Ilya Shesterkin. His AAV of $5.66 million places him second in the league. So drop Hart to No 23.

With a bullet?

Either way, Hart turns 23 on Friday, making him the second-youngest netminder out of the top 50 highest paid goalies (by AAV) on current NHL contracts.

After last season, he might still be ahead of the game. But it's what happens in the future that really matters.

"It definitely feels good to get the deal out of the way, and now just look forward to a clean slate next year," Hart said. "Summer has been good. I got a lot of training in so far and I've still got a little bit left.

"The past is in the past. ... I can only learn from it now. I'm looking forward to a new start next year."

Despite the strange slip in his game last season, Hart has plenty of time to not only prove himself, but improve on his next contract.

In his season exit interview in May, Hart said, "I believe in myself and I believe that I can be a top goaltender."

Hart's numbers actually improved a bit toward season's end, and a 2-1 shootout win over Pittsburgh on April 15 was one of his best performances of the season.

It also became his last outing of the season, as he was subsequently diagnosed with a sprained knee ligament, despite a celebration dance while coming off the ice after that game.

But not only is his knee strong, Hart thinks his mental approach is good, too. To help him along, he's working with well-regarded Edmonton-based goalie consultant Dustin Schwartz, despite an apparently erroneous report during the season that they weren't working together anymore.

"This offseason so far has been great. I got a lot of ice in and off the ice as well," Hart said. "Schwartzy’s been great; my trainer back home here, Phil Daly, he's been awesome. I'm feeling really good right now."

Hart added Schwartz and Flyers goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh, "always kind of had the same philosophies. This summer, we've targeted a couple areas that I want to work on. Together we thought that they’re areas that I need to work on and I think we made a lot of progress. 1219238 Philadelphia Flyers In anticipation for a new year, putting the past in the past, Hart has the Flyers' Oct. 15 season opener in front of fans at the Wells Fargo Center circled on his calendar.

Hart smiling about much more than just the money on his new contract "I can't wait for opening night where it'll be a sold-out stadium again," he said. "How loud our stadium is and how loud they're going to be on opening night, it's going to be wild. We're all looking forward to it."

BY JORDAN HALL SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.10.2021

Naturally, Carter Hart cracked many smiles Monday.

And it wasn't solely about his wallet getting fatter. Playing out his entry- level contract, the soon-to-be 23-year-old signed a new three-year, $11.937 million deal. But the moola did not seem to be the overarching reason for why the Flyers' innocent netminder was smiling Monday.

Hart has enjoyed his summer back home in the Edmonton, Alberta area, a relished opportunity to start anew and put the forgettable 2020-21 season in the past. Last season, an unorthodox 56-game sprint in the world of COVID-19, featured little enjoyment and a lot of adversity for Hart.

"The past is in the past," Hart said Monday.

He has turned the page while his team has turned to a new look.

Hart expressed excitement for both.

"It's been great," Hart said about his summer. "Everything's open here now, no masks, you can pretty much do everything without any restrictions now, so that's good. It's been awesome to see all my family and friends, just kind of hang out. ... Take a nice breather from the game, took about a month or so off the ice. It was nice to kind of just recharge and relax a little bit. It's been good, it's been a good summer. I got a lot of golf in, so my golf game has improved. I know some of the boys might say otherwise. It's been really good. Playing a lot of tennis and just been outdoors quite a bit, so it's been a good summer. The weather has been great here and it's been great so far."

Hart went 9-11-5 with a 3.67 goals-against average and .877 save percentage last season before he was shut down for the Flyers' final 13 games because of an MCL sprain in his left knee. At that point, the Flyers' season was already lost. The club ended up yielding an NHL- most 3.52 goals per game and owning a league-worst .883 save percentage.

The results of 2020-21 sparked some significant change by general manager Chuck Fletcher. Much of it revolved around the back end with the acquisitions of defensemen Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen and Keith Yandle. On top of that, Fletcher added Martin Jones in net and Cam Atkinson up front.

"I've heard great things, I've talked to some of those guys already and they seem like beauties," Hart said. "It's going to be a lot of fun this year and we're going to have a great locker room. Just looking forward to getting started.

"Definitely a lot of new faces coming in. Sad to see some of the boys go, for sure, but it's a business."

Hart is eager to compete and work with the 31-year-old Jones, who has 62 games of playoff experience and is eyeing a bounce-back season like Hart.

"I've heard great things about Jonesy and I'm looking forward to meeting him here soon," Hart said. "That's what you want, you want to have a good competition between the two 'tendies. Me and Jonesy will push each other to be better in practice and off the ice. I think that's only healthy; you want to have two goalies that compete hard to play games. I think in the long run, it will only be better off for the team and ourselves."

Hart, whose birthday is Friday, still has work to do this month before he comes back to the Philadelphia area ahead of September training camp. He said the offseason training and communication have been good.

"There's been a couple areas this offseason we've highlighted together, from our goalie coach in Philly Kim Dillabaugh, with my goalie coach back home here Dustin Schwartz," Hart said. "They're all on the same page. It's been a couple things there that we've targeted to work on and I think we've made a lot of good progress." 1219239 Philadelphia Flyers Per CapFriendly.com, the Flyers have just over $4 million in cap space. Sanheim's previous deal was a two-year, $6.5 million bridge contract.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.10.2021 Just ahead of his birthday, Hart has his new contract with Flyers

BY JORDAN HALL

Carter Hart has his new contract.

On Monday, the Flyers' goalie of the present and future signed a three- year deal with an average annual value of $3.979 million. Hart, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday Friday, was a restricted free agent and coming off of his entry-level deal. He'll be a restricted free agent when his new contract expires in the 2024 offseason.

After two impressive seasons to begin his NHL career, Hart struggled in the coronavirus-impacted 2020-21 campaign. He went 9-11-5 with a 3.67 goals-against average and .877 save percentage. The organization has remained high on his future and status as the club's No. 1 goalie.

“You kind of go home and you're just in your own thoughts the whole time because you’re just sitting in your apartment alone," Hart said in May at his end-of-the-season press conference. "Things were a lot better at the end, I was feeling a lot happier and hanging out with the boys more, and I think that that was kind of a big part of my play toward the end was just enjoying the game more and being more grateful for where I am. I mean, I’m in the NHL, I’m in the best league in the world. So instead of dwelling on other things, shifting my focus toward being more grateful.”

At 20 years old, Hart was summoned to the Flyers during the calamitous 2018-19 season in which the club played eight goalies. The 2016 second-round pick ended up making 30 starts and recorded eight straight victories during one stretch to match Jocelyn Thibault's NHL record of most consecutive wins by a goalie before his 21st birthday.

The following year, Hart finished the regular season 24-13-3 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. He then went 9-5-0 in the playoffs with a 2.23 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

Last year, the Flyers saw an ugly combination spiral into a letdown, playoff-less season. The Flyers were porous in front of their goalies, while the netminders didn't help, either. It resulted in the Flyers allowing the NHL's most goals per game (3.52) and sporting the league's worst save percentage (.883).

The season was a grind both mentally and physically for Hart, who shared the age of many college seniors. Following a March 9 start in which he was pulled for the third time of the season, Hart said things were "sh---y" and he didn't feel like himself. The club had him go through a mini, practice-oriented reset at the end of March and into early April. Hart went 1-2-2 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .910 save percentage over his final five starts, but was shut down for the Flyers' final 13 games because of an MCL sprain in his left knee.

"Our goaltending numbers weren't very good, our team defense wasn't very good," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said last month. "But really, it started up the ice — it was a full team effort, as I've mentioned to you guys several times and you guys saw. We didn't manage the puck well, we lost our third forward all the time, we gave up too many odd-man rushes, we didn't defend well in zone, we didn't kill well and we didn't get enough saves. It was a combination. When you don't play well in front of your goaltenders, it makes life very hard on them and you can lose confidence, you start compensating and cheating in different ways.

"I do know that if we defend better in front of our goaltenders, they in turn will play well and allow our players to be more confident, too."

This season, Hart will have a new goalie partner in veteran Martin Jones, who signed a one-year, $2 million deal a week and a half ago. Similar to Hart, Jones is looking for a bounce-back season. Hart will also see a revamped defense in front of him with the Flyers' offseason additions of Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen and Keith Yandle.

One of the Flyers' defensemen is still due a new contract as Travis Sanheim is a restricted free agent. Last Monday, the Flyers elected for salary arbitration with the 25-year-old bluelinder. The Flyers-Sanheim hearing date is Aug. 26, the last day for arbitration hearings. The two sides can still negotiate and agree to a deal before then. 1219240 Pittsburgh Penguins “To this day, our ratings are off the chart,” Bourque said. “We’re No. 1 for radio broadcasts in the National Hockey League. And it’s generations now. Not only guys that are 50, 60, 70 years old, but it’s even kids in their 20s that say, ‘It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh.’ For them, it’s the way to Mike Lange leaving Penguins broadcast booth kick off a hockey game. They know Mike Lange is the voice of the Penguins.”

It goes beyond being the voice of the Penguins, too. In its 262-year JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 11:56 a.m. history, there are few voices – if any – more associated with the city of Pittsburgh than his.

Hockey nights in Pittsburgh will never be the same. “I think everyone (in broadcasting) around here tries to be ‘Pittsburghy.’ You know what I mean?” said former Penguins winger Colby Armstrong, After 46 years in the broadcast booth, the legendary Mike Lange has an analyst for AT&T SportsNet. “Mike Lange had that charm to him of called his last Penguins game. being a real Pittsburgh broadcaster. People would never guess that he’s from California, the way he speaks, his terminology, all the knowledge The team announced Monday that Lange, 73, will not return to play-by- that he has within his calls. He’s a Pittsburgher.” play duties when the season begins in the fall. Lange will continue to provide commentary and voiceover work on the team’s radio network. Tribune Review LOADED: 08.10.2021 “This isn’t like something happened to him physically out of left field, thank God. I’ve been preparing myself for the last couple years for this,” said Phil Bourque, Lange’s longtime broadcast partner and close friend. “But still, when it becomes final-final, it tugs at your heartstrings because you know how much Mikey’s heart is into what he does.

“As much as you want to be happy because he is going to be around and still be involved, it is tough knowing that this is it, that he’s not going to be in that seat to my left again.”

Lange has been ramping down his schedule since 2017, when the team announced that Josh Getzoff would be handling certain road games.

Lange called only a handful of games after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’d be stupid to say that I don’t miss it,” Lange said in April. “But I also know I didn’t want to get covid-19. I guarantee not at my age and the situation. So, you’ve got to make a choice, and my choice is to try and be as healthy as I can.”

Getzoff, 32, will take the broadcasting baton from Lange, and under different circumstances, he could be walking into a tricky situation, trying to replace a legend. But Lange took Getzoff under his wing and never missed a chance to publicly give him his stamp of approval.

“When I first started filling in for him, the fact that he was OK with me going into that seat, I didn’t need to hear anything from anybody else,” Getzoff said. “That was the most important thing to me. If he would have been skeptical, then I would have been skeptical. From the second after he announced he was scaling back, he just kept saying, ‘You got it. You can. You can do it.’”

A native of Sacramento, Calif., Lange worked four years calling minor league games in the Western Hockey League before joining the Penguins in 1974.

Hitting the 50-year mark for his hockey career, which he did when he called a few games at the end of last season, was important to Lange.

“I didn’t get cheated in my quest to do what I have always loved,” Lange said in his retirement announcement.

In 2001, Lange received the Foster Hewitt award for broadcasting from the . In 2019, the Penguins named the press box at PPG Paints Arena after him.

On the surface, Lange’s claims to fame are his signature goal calls, from “Michael, Michael, motorcycle” to “Scratch my back with a hacksaw.”

“I spend a lot of time deciding if and when I want to use a phrase,” Lange said in 2017. “And if I do use it, I want to really use it. The fans probably have a favorite, but they are all my favorites. It gives me a thrill to use the phrases at the right time.”

Below the surface, Lange is widely respected for his feel for the game.

“You could sense the momentum changing. You could sense the big moments arriving. He had an incredible knack for that,” Getzoff said. “I listen to the radio hardcore. I’m a nerd with that. There’s nobody in the league that calls a game like that. People try, and people do it to an extent, but nobody does it like Mike Lange.”

It’s an approach that has resonated with fans for five decades. 1219241 Pittsburgh Penguins notes. He probably didn’t use 95 percent of them during the game, but, man, when one was necessary, he was ready, delivering it naturally, never forcing it. He was the ultimate pro’s pro.

Ron Cook: To Doc Emrick, retiring legend Mike Lange will be ‘a That was Lange’s passion for his job and for hockey. I’m not sure I’ve Pittsburgher’ forever seen anything like it. He loved what he did. That’s why his retirement is just a little frightening. Lange is 73 and has had some health problems. I just hope he’s ready for the next chapter of his life — like Emrick, still in good health, was at 74 — and not that his retirement was forced. RON COOK “The best part is his voice is still going to be heard in Pittsburgh,” Emrick

said. “He’s still going to be around. He’s still going to be associated with Doc Emrick and Mike Lange are the two greatest hockey announcers I’ve the Penguins.” ever known. Emrick, a remarkable nine-time national Emmy winner, was Lange always will be associated with the Penguins. known across North America as the voice of the NHL before his retirement in October 2020 after 40 seasons. Lange is and always will be What a fabulous run Lange had. He deserves a long, healthy retirement. nothing less than a Pittsburgh legend, right there with and He has earned it. . I have to admit I am envious of Lange. All he has to do for the rest of his “I’m glad to be mentioned in the same sentence with Mike,” Emrick was life is be Mike Lange. saying Monday afternoon. We all should be so lucky. “What an honor for me.” Post Gazette LOADED: 08.10.2021 What a tribute that is for Lange.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties

It just seemed right to call Emrick on the day Lange announced his retirement after 46 seasons with the Penguins. The two shared more in common than just their magnificent work in front of a microphone. They have had a wonderful friendship that started in an odd sort of way in 1974.

“We both applied for the Penguins’ job and were two of the three finalists,” Emrick said. “The Penguins made the best decision they ever made when they picked Mike.”

Emrick grew up in rural Indiana, listening to the inimitable Prince call Pirates games on 50,000-watt KDKA. That’s a big reason he wanted to be a broadcaster. Years later, Emrick, a fan of all sports, knew of the equally inimitable Cope’s amazing career with the Steelers. Cope became bigger and was more beloved than probably any of the Super 70s Steelers except for maybe Jack Lambert. Then, there was Lange. Has anyone been bigger and more beloved with the Penguins? Other than Mario Lemieux and maybe ?

Really, how blessed have the sports fans in this city been? To have Prince, Cope and Lange provide the soundtrack for our greatest sports memories? To sit on the back porch during a steamy summer night and hear Prince gush about “Arriba, Arriba,” the great Roberto Clemente? To hear Cope hem-hawing on Sunday afternoons about “The Emperor Chaz,” the great Chuck Noll? To hear Lange speak on frigid winter nights about Lemieux or Crosby shooting and scoring?

“All iconic people, all unique people, all with great longevity, all associated with the success of their team,” Emrick said.

Emrick mentioned Lange’s many catch phrases, the ones all Penguins fans know and love, from “Elvis has just left the building,” to “Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one, too.” And who will ever forget his simple, yet powerful call on an unforgettable May night in 1991 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minn.: “The Stanley Cup has come to the City of Pittsburgh.”

What unbelievable words.

What an unbelievable night.

“Only one guy could get away with those phrases — Mike,” Emrick said. “If any of the rest of us would have tried it, people would say, ‘You’re crazy!’ They were unique to Mike …

“Do you know where he was born? Sorry to get off track, but I wanted to mention it. I had to look it up. He’s from Sacramento. But to me, when I think of him, I think of a guy from Pittsburgh. He is Squirrel Hill. He is the Parkway. He is a Pittsburgher. Just like Mario. Mario is from Quebec, but he’s a Pittsburgher. They’ll always be Pittsburghers.”

Emrick and Lange also shared an admirable work ethic. Until their final game, they believed in going to the morning skate, to talk to every coach, to see as many players as possible to mine nuggets for that night’s broadcast. Lange would go home briefly, arrive back at the arena late in the afternoon and sit in the media dining room, compiling his copious 1219242 Pittsburgh Penguins Classy as always, he expressed gratitude for the support him over the years.

“There are so many people to thank along the way,” Lange stated. “From Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties the terrific personnel at the arena all these years, ownership including the smaller investors who took a chance on this franchise, players who make it all possible and the management and all the staff members who are so memorable to me. I am very grateful for the chance to meet and work MATT VENSEL with you over the years.

“And to the fans: what a trip we had together. So many contributing to the Ladies and gentlemen, a Pittsburgh icon has just left the play-by-play broadcasts and listening night after night. Always made me ‘smile like a booth. butcher’s dog.’”

Mike Lange, the legendary broadcaster whose clever catchphrases and Lange, a native of Sacramento, Calif., earned a degree in broadcasting crescendo calls were the soundtrack of the greatest moments in from Sacramento State University before starting his career as the voice Penguins history, announced Monday he will not return to the radio booth of the Phoenix Roadrunners in 1970. Lange later did play-by-play for the for play-by-play duties. San Diego Gulls and the Washington Diplomats soccer club before joining the Penguins. “As many of you know, I have been cutting back on game broadcasts the last few seasons,” Lange said in a statement. “This year was difficult with Lange’s relationship with the Penguins began in 1974-75 as a radio play- the pandemic, but I was still able to broadcast a limited few, which was by-play man. He left for one season, returned in 1976-77 and is still here important to me. That marked 50 years of broadcasting professional today. hockey — four in the Western Hockey League and 46 with the Pittsburgh Lange did radio exclusively until 1979, when Penguins games began to Penguins. That was pretty special for me.” be simulcast on radio and television. And he busted out signature He added: “I didn’t get cheated in my quest to do what I have always catchphrases such as “Elvis has just left the building!” and “She wants to loved.” sell my monkey!” as Mario Lemieux and the Penguins captured back-to- back Stanley Cup titles and Pittsburgh’s heart. Ron Cook: To Doc Emrick, retiring legend Mike Lange will be ‘a Pittsburgher’ forever Lange served as the TV voice of the Penguins through 2005-06 then returned to the radio booth the next season. The Hockey Hall of Famer The 73-year-old missed the majority of the 2020-21 season for was on the call when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co. added three precautionary reasons during the pandemic as he awaited the COVID-19 more Cups to the trophy case. vaccine. He returned to the booth at PPG Paints Arena to call two home games near the end of the regular season and Games 1 and 5 of the “Mike is a broadcasting legend, not just in Pittsburgh, but in all of sports. playoff series against the New York Islanders. … Mike’s clever phrases and goal calls are synonymous with the most iconic moments in Penguins history,” Penguins president and CEO David In April, Lange admitted the time away from the arena made him think Morehouse stated. “Although he is stepping away from the booth, he about life beyond broadcasting and said he would mull retirement after remains a huge part of the Penguins’ family and we look forward to the season. hearing his voice for years to come.”

“I’m not young anymore,” he told the Post-Gazette. “There’s always that While those “clever phrases” upped the entertainment factor for loyal possibility. I reserve that right to have that option. The team has allowed Penguins fans and earned Lange notoriety beyond Pittsburgh, Getzoff me to do that.” believes Lange’s best attribute as a play-by-play announcer was his feel for the game and looming drama. So Monday’s announcement, while it was sad news for Pittsburgh puck- lovers who associate his voice with so many fond memories, was far “He would say something like, ‘There may be a chance here.’ Mike didn’t from a surprise. say those things lightly. He said it with purpose. And as a fan, you learn to appreciate that,” he said. “So when he says it, you start to lean a little Josh Getzoff, who split play-by-play duties with Lange the last three bit more forward in your seat. You listen a little more closely. Because he seasons, will be Lange’s full-time replacement in the radio booth, hasn’t steered you wrong.” teaming up with longtime Penguins analyst Phil Bourque. Getzoff previously traveled to call all of the road games and filled in for Lange Getzoff knows there will never be another Mike Lange. “He’s definitely whenever Lange was unavailable for home games. one of a kind,” he said. Getzoff, respectfully, plans to call Penguins games his way. “Once I reached a point when I was 12 or 13 and realized I wasn’t going to be an NHL player, I wanted to be in it as a broadcaster,” he told the He vividly remembers the day in 2017 when Lange taped the Post-Gazette. “Not to sound overly cliché, but it really is a dream come announcement that he would be scaling back his broadcasting duties and true to get the chance to do it full-time. The fact that the Penguins are that Getzoff would start calling road games. As they walked out to the giving me a chance to be their voice is humbling but at the same time parking garage, Lange gave Getzoff, now 32, a subtle but purposeful super exciting. I can’t wait to get going.” compliment that still sticks with him.

But getting word that Lange would be retiring from play-by-play was a “I said, ‘Mike, it means so much to me that you would look at me as whirlwind of emotions for Getzoff, whom Lange took under his wing when someone who could sit in your chair and call these games.’ And he said, Getzoff joined the Penguins Radio Network in 2015, originally hosting the ‘You can. You can.’ And Mike just kind of smirked at me and shook my pre-game show. hand,” he said. “He walked off and it seemed like he was walking off into the sunset, like in a movie.” Ron Cook: NHL season will be strange without the voices of hockey Four years later, Lange is sauntering out of the booth for good. But his “Look, in the city of Pittsburgh, he’s on murals. People love him. You see unforgettable calls will continue to reverberate through this city for his shirts printed in the Strip District. He’s an icon and a pillar of the city, decades to come. in the community and obviously with the hockey team,” Getzoff said. “As far as important and iconic figures, he’s right up there with Mario Lemieux Post Gazette LOADED: 08.10.2021 and Sidney Crosby.”

Lange will remain a part of the Penguins Radio Network. He will add commentary and voice work “to the current radio setup” on a limited basis, he said.

“I look forward to staying involved,” Lange said. “In the meantime, the best consolation to stepping away is knowing that the broadcast couldn’t be in better hands with the very talented Josh Getzoff, and the Ole ’29-er, Phil Bourque.” 1219243 Pittsburgh Penguins both with ease. He was both clever and witty, and remarkably well prepared, but at the same time, I think Pittsburgh fans just felt like they were sitting on a barstool talking with Mike.”

Mike Lange has just left the building: Hockey royalty salutes the Make no mistake, Lange spent a time or two on barstools in his day. Like Penguins’ retiring broadcasting legend Prince and Cope before him, Lange enjoyed every ounce of entertainment that Pittsburgh had to offer.

Emrick couldn’t help but mention this. By Josh Yohe Aug 9, 2021 “I have heard about Mike being introduced to Pittsburgh by Bob Prince when he arrived in town,” Emrick said. “My goodness. I don’t believe I ever would have survived some of those nights. But it just goes to show In the ultimate franchise of superstars, Mike Lange stood alone. that Mike was the perfect man for that job. And, you know, he really was. After 46 magical years behind the microphone, Lange, the man who Every city is different. Mike surely would have been a star in any market made hockey cool in Pittsburgh long before Mario Lemieux arrived in because he was just that good, but I think Pittsburgh was the perfect 1984 and who remained a singular star for parts of six decades, place for him. And he was perfect for Pittsburgh.” announced his retirement Monday. Lange will be replaced by Josh Getzoff, and the two have formed a He did so with little fanfare, which is his way. Lange, 73, projected a special bond. The Hall of Famer, as Lange is referred to in Penguins booming voice and a larger-than-life style that was eccentric and media circles, immediately took Getzoff under his wing. Following in the unforgettable. Behind the scenes, though, Lange is reserved and keeps footsteps of a giant like Lange isn’t enviable, and Lange was always well to himself in his North Hills home. A news release from the Penguins aware of this. Thus, he took the time to help prepare Getzoff from Day 1. quietly announced his departure from the broadcast booth. “My favorite part about my relationship with Mikey isn’t that I’ve been able As Lange’s incomparable pipes officially go silent from Penguins games, to call him a colleague, and even better, a mentor,” Getzoff said. “But it’s many of hockey’s biggest names reached out to The Athletic to offer their that I’ve gained a friend in him. And a close one, at that. We’ve obviously appreciation for the native of Sacramento who became a Pittsburgh developed a great relationship over the last handful of years, and I will legend. forever be grateful for the time and guidance he has given and continues to give as I carve out my own path in the broadcast world.” “When I listened to Mike,” Sidney Crosby said, “I felt like I was watching the game.” Lange’s loyalty to the Penguins remains an indelible part of his legacy. Bigger markets with deeper pockets were around during his years with Crosby and Lange have a very close relationship. Lange also remains the Penguins, but he always preferred to stay in Pittsburgh. close with Lemieux and was especially tight with Jaromir Jagr, proof that stars on the ice for the Penguins acknowledged that they weren’t the “Mike Lange is Pittsburgh, and it wouldn’t have been right for him to have organization’s only big names. It was a typical sight in the locker room to been anywhere else,” Emrick said. see Crosby huddled with Lange after a morning skate on game day, His calls and sayings will be the stuff of legend for as long as the chatting about hockey, or life. Penguins are playing hockey. The Penguins’ captain offered his affection for Lange. “Look out, Loretta,” “Michael, Michael Motorcycle,” “Slap me Silly, “He’s just a great man, and you automatically associate his voice with our Sidney” and so many other phrases that were uniquely Lange have team,” Crosby said. “The passion, expression and words he used to become uniquely part of the Penguins. describe things are just so original to him. I will miss seeing him around “One of my favorite things about Mikey is that different generations of the rink, but his calls will always be linked with the great memories. He’s Penguins fans know him and love him,” said his broadcast partner, the always going to be a part of our team.” “ol’ 29er,” Phil Bourque. “Little kids, teenagers, they know who Mike is Lange arrived in Pittsburgh in 1975, at a time when the Steelers and and they love him. And he’s been here for almost 50 years. Think about Pirates were kings of the city. Along the way, he made hockey popular in that.” Western and, according to former NBC broadcaster Doc Lange was in his prime when Lemieux was in his prime, his many calls Emrick, is a part of the holy trinity of Pittsburgh broadcasters. on Lemieux’s signature goals very much a part of the show on a nightly No one would argue this claim. basis for what had become a surging hockey market in Pittsburgh. Perhaps Lange’s most famous call was one of his least flashy, when, on “Pittsburgh is something,” Emrick said. “Look at the talent, the incredible the night of May 25, 1991, his voice boomed, “The Stanley Cup has names. Bob Prince. Myron Cope. Mike Lange. Those are the three. And come to the city of Pittsburgh.” they were all similar in some ways. People knew them for their eccentric words and personalities, and that is fair. But I would suggest that they “That’s the thing about Mike,” Emrick said. “And I’ll throw Bob and Myron were all remarkable because of their talent for calling games, for their in there, too. All of those Pittsburgh teams won championships during feel for the game, and more than anything for their ability to connect with those years. In Mike’s case, he called five Stanley Cup wins. Five! For Pittsburghers. People in Pittsburgh like their broadcasters a certain way. the sports fans among us, the true sports fans, those are lasting And Mike Lange was the perfect fit from the very beginning. No one else memories, those Stanley Cup wins. Mike’s voice was there every step of in the history of broadcasting could have done it better.” the way and is always going to be a very important part of those memories.” Lange was no homer, but he wasn’t hollering “Look out, Loretta” when the Flyers scored goals. Emrick said that this quality was one of the Lange will still make occasional appearances on Penguins radio, many things that made him a certifiable Pittsburgher. according to the team. He has struggled with multiple health issues in recent years, though he did return to the booth for a handful of games Fellow broadcasters gush when they speak of Lange. during the 2021 season. A Game 5 playoff loss against the Islanders was Lange’s final broadcast. “Everyone talks about the sayings and all of the funny stuff he’d say,” said , Lange’s broadcast partner for the better part of Bourque cherished his final few chances to work games with the person two decades. “But what made Mike really special was so much more he frequently refers to as “his brother.” than that. His feel for the game, his ability to describe the game and that incredible voice of his. He was the complete package, just an incredible “I always knew each game could be my last with him,” Bourque said. “I talent. There’s never been anyone like him. No way.” knew this day would come, but I never wanted to. I bawled this morning. It was an incredible honor to work with him all of these years, and I’m Emrick, two years older than Lange and of comparable status in the aura going to miss it so much.” of great hockey broadcasters, marveled at Lange’s pure talent. Lange did it all during his time with the Penguins. Television, radio, “He had a special ability to feel a game, where it was headed and what simulcasts, one-man booths, helping with the team’s marketing of the the fans at home were thinking,” Emrick said. “It didn’t matter if he was Penguins and so much more. on TV or radio. He was so extraordinarily talented that he could handle His body no longer cooperating, he finally decided it was time.

“He was such a star,” Steigerwald said. “There’s no question he’s one of the most important figures in franchise history. Before Mario, there was no reason to listen to the Penguins or to watch the Penguins. You tuned in because of Mike Lange.”

Emrick, himself recently retired, said the obvious.

“Pittsburgh is going to miss him so much,” Emrick said. “And for good reason. What a special, hardworking man. Every city has its stars in this business, but I think Mike’s star was a little brighter.”

The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219244 Pittsburgh Penguins McGinn. Remember, when we say high-danger, we’re referring to the home-plate area in front of the crease. This visualization comes from Corey’s All Three Zones project.

Marshall: Is Brock McGinn really a one-to-one Brandon Tanev So, while Tanev carries the puck in with a bit more frequency, McGinn is replacement in Penguins’ bottom six? fruitful with his time away from the puck, generating a lot of shot opportunities from his teammates’ efforts.

I found a video clip that perfectly exemplifies this behavior in action, with By Jesse Marshall Aug 9, 2021 a touch of McGinn’s forechecking focus. This shift produces a goal, but you can count three individual drives from McGinn leading up to it. As the

play shifts, McGinn follows it masterfully — putting extra pressure on the When the Seattle Kraken took Brandon Tanev in the expansion draft, the defense and working open lanes in driving to the net. Penguins were dealt an immediate hole in a pretty important line. In that clip, outside of raw forechecking, McGinn is busy making himself If Pittsburgh loves anything, it’s a player like Tanev. His up-tempo, available for opportunities and attempting to keep the opponent on its physically engaging style of play (and verbal altercations with opposing heels. In that sense, it’s not dissimilar to what we’ve seen from Tanev. players) was a match made in heaven for a city that once turned Gary There’s a defensive side to this coin, as well. McGinn’s heads-up style of Roberts into an entire living, breathing meme. play has earned him so many solid defensive returns. That vision is Brock McGinn was immediately dubbed “the Tanev replacement” upon tangible on video. becoming the most notable signing by cap-strapped general manager The critical moment in this clip isn’t McGinn going end to end to generate in the free-agency period thus far. It was almost as if there a scoring chance, it’s how he recognizes the moments and takes full was an assumption that McGinn and Tanev were inherently the same; advantage. From forechecking to defensive awareness to knowing when the style the Penguins would get with McGinn was what they got with to use the space available, this is a great example of what makes Tanev. With last year’s divisional re-alignment sending Carolina out of McGinn such a sound player at both ends. the division, limiting organic viewings of McGinn, I wanted to put this acquisition under a microscope. These skills seem to align nicely with McGinn’s potential linemates in Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese. It’s a no-nonsense, north-to- To start, what kind of fit does McGinn project to be for his role? Are the south game that features a lot of pressure and great awareness immediate comparisons to Tanev’s style accurate? The data bears out defensively. some similarities, but it’s worth investigating further to see what type of presence McGinn will specifically bring to the Penguins’ depth at forward. The Penguins’ fourth line has been a defensive powerhouse since the arrival of Blueger and Aston-Reese, sporting the lowest expected goals If it’s possible to be a physical forechecking presence and overall against numbers on the team. Last season, the Blueger line was not on disruption to the opponent without relying on checking, McGinn has it the ice for a single goal against at even strength. Given the Penguins’ mastered. goaltending struggles, that’s certainly not because of the performance in There are similarities between Tanev in McGinn in their straight-line, net. It’s a testament to how strong that line was defensively. McGinn speed-based forechecking styles. The most notable difference I seems to have the skills to slot in perfectly with that. discerned, and this is a big one, is McGinn tending to walk out of wall I mentioned earlier that the data bore a lot of similarities for the career battles with the puck on his stick without needing to use the body like paths of Tanev and McGinn. Micah McCurdy’s HockeyViz.com gives us a Tanev. staunch career-to-career comparison. These are isolated player impacts That’s not to say McGinn is allergic to contact; far from it. He was visualizing career performance. For defensive performance, you want to engaged physically in every game I watched. The difference is in be in the negative — that would mean you’re driving down your team’s approach. Tanev used the body to separate man from puck first and overall expected goals against (a measure of opponent shot quality) by foremost. McGinn does it that way in some instances, but more often virtue of your defensive performance. Offensively, the reverse is true — than not, he uses his posture, body position and stick to free things up you want to be adding more to your team’s expected goal totals. along the wall and create scoring chances. We’ll see more of that later. As far as isolated impacts go, McGinn has outpaced Tanev both Time and space are a defenseman’s most precious commodities, and offensively and defensively through the course of his career. The one McGinn’s focus is to take those elements away. His forechecking is area Tanev maintained an advantage was in his performance on the economical in the sense that he doesn’t needlessly burn speed. You penalty kill. Penguins fans will need to keep an eye on that role for sometimes see players covering a ton of ice without actually McGinn as training camp gets underway, but I didn’t catch anything accomplishing anything. McGinn stalks opportunities to apply pressure alarming on video that indicated McGinn wasn’t up for the job; it was and uses his quick first step to get him from point to point. simply an area Tanev flourished in a bit more.

The clip below does a great job of showing that economical forechecking The boost on offense with McGinn isn’t as big as the boost on defense, — McGinn’s presence drives Columbus backward off an offensive zone but I wanted to highlight a few areas of McGinn’s game in the offensive faceoff. Keep an eye on No. 23 in red, highlighted in the clip. McGinn zone that really caught my eye as I studied his tape. targets the pressure, forcing the Columbus defense in reverse and To start, McGinn is effective in front of the net and can be an effective eventually forcing an icing call alongside his partner. screening presence when necessary. In the next clip, I segmented out a Being fast and aggressive on the forecheck is good only if that energy is great example of this. McGinn forces the defense into a bad position via used to hem the opponent in and keep them from doing what they want his forechecking, then makes a beeline for the front of the net, providing when they want. This was a theme in virtually every one of McGinn’s an excellent screen for Sebastian Aho’s goal. shifts. If you think about this approach and how head coach Mike Sullivan That’s a simplistic approach, but it’s what you want to see out of the prefers the team to stay on the front foot and forecheck aggressively, player replacing Tanev. Many of these videos are trends of McGinn’s often with two forwards at the point of the opposition breakout, it’s easy overall game that should mesh well with the current makeup of the to see why Hextall targeted McGinn. bottom six. McGinn doesn’t carry the puck in quite as much as Tanev. Per Corey I keep going back to McGinn’s vision, but that’s another huge calling card Sznajder’s zone entry/exit data, Tanev averaged 20.16 carries per hour of his offensive performance. In the next clip, you’ll see McGinn hide his at even strength, while McGinn clocked in last year at just 13.90. Both shooting intentions entirely by keeping his eyes off of the puck and the players averaged roughly 40 percent of their entries with possession of netminder before scoring his goal. There’s simply no way for the goalie to the puck; Tanev just does it more frequently. predict where McGinn is sending this puck as he’s completely averting McGinn really separates himself as a shooting option post-entry. Since his vision and looking everyone off of him. McGinn doesn’t do the heavy lifting on carrying the puck, he makes ALSO: Note how McGinn wins this puck battle to begin with — not with himself readily available for passes and rebound options while circling checking but with body position. I made this callout earlier, and you really the offensive zone. In fact, there wasn’t a single Hurricanes player last get a sense for what I mean in this example. year who had a higher average of shots off high-danger passes than If the question is whether McGinn can replicate Tanev’s success on a defensive line, there’s no concern on my end. Expect to see McGinn do a little less carrying the puck into the zone or retrieving it. There’s a little less physicality to his game, too. However, the results are the same: His direct, aggressive forechecking will fit nicely with the team’s philosophy. What he doesn’t bring in carries or retrievals, he makes up for with his ability to provide a screen and make himself available as a scoring option in open lanes.

When all is said and done, the Penguins may have lost someone beloved by the city in Tanev, but they’ve gotten younger, cheaper and added a little more versatility to a line that is heavily relied upon to take some difficult minutes when it matters most.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219245 Pittsburgh Penguins

Oh No Eddie Spaghetti, Mike Lange Leaves Penguins Play-by-Play

By Dan Kingerski

The Pittsburgh Penguins radio booth is minus one icon who inspired hundreds of hockey broadcasters who followed his lead with colorful descriptions. Now, millions of Penguins fans will be without Mike Lange doing play-by-play in the radio booth. The Penguins announced Lange, who has been the gravely voiced joy since 1974, is stepping aside as the voice of the Penguins.

I’ll be cow-kicked.

However, Lange will not be leaving to hunt moose on a Harley. According to the team, he will remain with the Penguins radio network.

“Mike is a broadcasting legend, not just in Pittsburgh, but in all of sports,” said Penguins president and CEO . “He is respected and admired by all, including our ownership, players and management and executive team. Mike’s clever phrases and goal calls are synonymous with the most iconic moments in Penguins history. Although he is stepping away from the booth, he remains a huge part of the Penguins’ family, and we look forward to hearing his voice for years to come.”

Lange forwent last season due to COVID and his health issues in recent years. Josh Getzoff handled the radio calls and will assume the duties officially. Phil Bourque will remain the color commentator.

But Pittsburgh sports fans have lost one of the greats, whose unique expressions were featured on ESPN Sportscenter, and his call to end games, “And Elvis has left the building,” permeated pop culture.

Older fans will remember an Elvis impersonator in the late 1980s and early 1990s, who would get up and leave towards the end of Penguins games when the home team scored a clinching goal.

Lange called only home games for three seasons before the COVID campaign. The Hall of Fame broadcaster was honored with a large mural in the Pittsburgh Penguins press box.

“As many of you know, I have been cutting back on game broadcasts the last few seasons. This year was difficult with the pandemic, but I was still able to broadcast a limited few, which was important to me. That marked 50 years of broadcasting professional hockey – four in the Western Hockey League and 46 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was pretty special for me,” said Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange. “I didn’t get cheated in my quest to do what I have always loved. The Penguins have asked me to continue to add commentary and voice work on a limited basis to the current radio set-up, and I look forward to staying involved. In the meantime, the best consolation to stepping away is knowing that the broadcast couldn’t be in better hands with the very talented Josh Getzoff and the Ole ’29-er, Phil Bourque.”

Older fans will also remember Lange on the radio-TV simulcast. As Mario Lemieux introduced a new fanbase to hockey, Lange was the soundtrack. He introduced new fans to the game through his voice and his incomparable lens. There is a reason the Pittsburgh Penguins have a loyal TV viewing, and PHN will assert it’s because a generation of fans grew up watching Lange on TV, and it became a staple of Penguins fandom long ago.

Pittsburgh Hockey NowLOADED: 08.10.2021 1219246 Pittsburgh Penguins Adam Clendening: Philadelphia Flyers J.S. Dea:

Happy Retirement: Former Penguins as Free Agents: Who Signed, Who is Still Unemployed James Neal: He may or may not find NHL employment for this season.

His wrister has declined, and his stats have plummeted. Except for an By Dan Kingerski exceptional two-week hot streak a couple of seasons ago, Neal, 33, has been absent from the score sheets far too often. He has 60 points over the last three seasons, including a 19-point season (7-12-19) with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19, and scored just 10 points in 29 games last The U.S. Federal government is ending the unemployment bonus in season. September, so more than a few folks will need to fill the many open jobs, though a few NHL players may be unemployed a little longer as teams He scored an astounding 185 points (89-95) with the Penguins in 199 wait until closer to training camp to scoop up last-minute bargains. games, largely playing beside Evgeni Malkin. Neal scored a career-high Several former Pittsburgh Penguins are still on the market, a few others 40 goals in 2011-12. have signed healthy contracts, and one former Penguins fan favorite is probably headed for the beach. Marian Hossa: An unfitting end to one of the greatest two-way wingers of all time. The Penguins acquired Hossa at the 2008 NHL trade deadline By the beach, I mean retirement. but lost in the Stanley Cup Final. Hossa jumped ship to the Cup victor– the Detroit Red Wings, but the Penguins beat Hossa and Detroit for the Using the player availability from NHL.com’s official tracker: Stanley Cup the following season. Former Pittsburgh Penguins in Free Agency: Hossa had a string of playoff failures before joining the Penguins, Most recent: including the wrong end of several playoff upsets with the Ottawa Senators. He finally lifted the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks Frederick Gaudreau: Former Penguins AGM, now Minnesota Wild GM in 2010. He won three Cups with Chicago, but a medical condition Bill Guerin, signed Gaudreau to a two-year, $1.2 million AAV deal to be prematurely ended his career after the 2016-17 season. his fourth-line center. The 12-year contract he signed with Chicago in the summer of 2009, and Cody Ceci: Four years, $14 million with the Edmonton Oilers. his four-year LTIR stay finally ended this summer.

Kevin Czuczman: Signed with Minnesota Wild, two-way deal. Matt Niskanen: He retired at 33-years-old last October before the beginning of the COVID campaign. Niskanen played his final season for Stanley Cup Winners: the Philadelphia Flyers, who acquired him from the Washington Capitals Nick Bonino: Signed a two-year, $4.1 million deal with the San Jose for Radko Gudas. Sharks, where he pencils in as an upgrade for third-line center. As things Niskanen scored 85 points (19-66-85) in 214 games with the Penguins. shake out, he’ll probably skate with Rudolfs Balcers and an He won a Stanley Cup with Washington in 2017-18. undetermined LW. This is Bonino’s second time on the Pacific coast. The middle of the famed H-B-K line played for the Vancouver Canucks when Unemployed former Pittsburgh Penguins: former Penguins GM Jim Rutherford acquired him in the Brandon Sutter deal in 2016. Derrick Brassard, Erik Gudbranson, Riley Sheahan, Mark Jankowski, Colton Sceviour, Dominik Kahun, Alex Galchenyuk, Carter Rowney, We’ll take any chance to use this still hilarious video from an old friend of Scott Wilson, Joseph Blandisi, Jack Johnson, Derrick Pouliot, Patrick PHN, Harrison Mooney, “Holding Out for Bonino”: Marleau, Stefan Noesen.

Ian Cole: Signed a one-year, $2.9 million deal with the Carolina Some of these names jump out at you, no? The Brassard trade will Hurricanes. The 32-year-old defenseman will play for his third team in 12 forever be infamous, as will Johnson and Pouliot. At least Wilson and months after the Colorado Avalanche shipped him to the Minnesota Wild Rowney have Stanley Cup rings. to clear space for their young defensemen early last season. Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.10.2021 It’s Been a While:

Jarred Tinordi: The New York Rangers added plenty of grit this offseason. Washington Capitals tough guy Tom Wilson single-handedly wrecked them in one game late last season. So, new Rangers GM Chris Drury signed tough defenseman Jarred Tinordi to a two-year, $1.8 million contract (and acquired “Sheriff” Ryan Reaves). Tinordi spent one season in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization (2017-18) but didn’t play an NHL game. He played for Boston last season and was the player who hit Evgeni Malkin, which caused the knee injury.

Alex Goligoski: So long ago, I don’t remember when. That’s when they say I lost my only friend. The Minnesota Wild again factor into a former Penguin’s new address. Goligoski signed a one-year, $5 million deal.

Goligoski was a young Penguins defenseman with promise and puck skills. In 2011, former Penguins GM Ray Shero traded Goligoski to the Dallas Stars for Matt Niskanen and James Neal. Both Neal and Niskanen would have stellar Penguins careers. Neal was traded for Patric Hornqvist in 2015. Niskanen departed for the Washington Capitals in the same offseason.

Brandon Sutter: The aforementioned Brandon Sutter re-signed with Vancouver for one year, $1.125 million after the conclusion of his five- year, $21.875 million deal, which he signed immediately after the Penguins traded him for Bonino.

Two-Way Deals:

Greg McKegg: New York Rangers. Remember when McKegg was a potential Penguins third-line center in the summer of 2017? He’s been a useful fourth-line center, though a bubble NHL player. 1219247 San Jose Sharks said. “He believes he actually has his best hockey in front of him still as far as mastering the position. He’s incredibly motivated to come in there and have a very healthy competition.”

Sharks’ goalie guru expects ‘healthy competition’ between James Reimer Reimer seemed to indicate as much in his video interview just hours after and Adin Hill his new contract in San Jose became official.

“At the end of the day, you want to play too, right? It’s about being prepared and being ready to go, and helping your team (in) however By Kevin Kurz Aug 9, 2021 many games they need or want you to play,” Reimer said on July 28. “I’m coming into camp ready to play, ready to push, and get as many starts as

possible, and at the same time supporting all my teammates — and One-half of the Sharks’ newly formed goaltending tandem has known especially Adin.” and worked with goalie consultant Adam Francilia for a dozen years. While the physical aspect of goaltending is obviously important, it’s the James Reimer has been a faithful client for a long time, and now is “mental and emotional” aspect of the position that can be most spending five days a week with Francilia this offseason in Kelowna, B.C., challenging, according to Francilia. While he hasn’t peronally gotten a preparing for his return to the Sharks after signing a two-year contract as read yet on Hill, he’s spoken to others who know him. a free agent last month. “I’ve definitely talked to people that know him and have worked with him, The other, Adin Hill, acquired via trade last month, has yet to meet him. and all the feedback I have gotten is that they’ve seen a nice maturation But Francilia, who boasts a client list in the double digits of some top of the person. That’s encouraging,” Francilia said. “A starting goaltender NHL goalies and a few skaters but who is paid exclusively by the Sharks, has to be a mature person. I’ve never worked with anybody that I’ve is encouraged by what he’s seen on video from the 25-year-old. helped to develop into or who already has been a starting goaltender that “There’s a number of boxes that he checks,” Francilia said of Hill in a doesn’t have maturity beyond their years. I think that’s incredibly phone interview on Saturday. “Foundationally, I think he’s a goalie that important.” has a pretty good handle on a bunch of the different goaltending tools. That’s surely part of what made the Sharks pursue Reimer, whom many He’s a pretty naturally gifted goaltender. That’s obviously a huge plus. in the organization already know from his brief stint in 2016 when he was His age is a huge plus. acquired at the trade deadline and served as Martin Jones’ backup “If he’s motivated, which I’m sure he is, and willing to continue to make during the run to the Stanley Cup Final. The organization put an those tools more sophisticated and develop a consistently sound game emphasis on adding respected veterans this offseason, and did so with based on his natural gifts, we have the potential to really have guys like Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano and Reimer. something.” Even if Reimer still wants to play the bulk of the games — as any NHL For those unfamiliar with Francilia, he’s had his own business for more goaltender would — he’ll be there to help guide Hill and just be a solid than two decades concentrating on what he calls the “biomechanics of presence in the room, too. movement and the brain-body connection.” Nutrition and diet are also “That’s another nice thing with Reims, is you’re never going to find a key parts of his program. Among the NHL goaltenders who work with better teammate,” Francilia said. “I think Reims will be a great teammate Francilia are Connor Hellebuyck, Thomas Greiss, Mike Smith and Matt for Adin. Reims is the kind of guy that will, as much as he wants to push Murray. He’s officially been on the Sharks’ payroll since 2019 and is not himself, will push his partner to be better and better.” employed by any other team. If the Sharks are to have any chance of pushing for a playoff spot, that’s Francilia is a big proponent of the kind of approach many NHL teams exactly what the goaltending will have to be. Better. Much better, in fact, have taken lately with their goaltending — relying on two, rather than just after they’ve finished either 30th or 31st in team save percentage since one horse to carry the load. He had frequent conversations with his good 2018-19. friend and colleague, Sharks goalie coach Evgeni Nabokov, as the Sharks made it their top priority to change the look of their goaltending “If you look back last year at some of the games we played and thought after three straight seasons of subpar play from the most important we could have won — a change in goaltending was a need, and I think position on the ice. that both guys are going to come in and help,” coach Bob Boughner said on July 28. “That position has changed so incredibly much over the last 10 to 15 years, way more than the other positions,” Francilia said. “Because the Francilia said: “I see both (Hill and Reimer) as guys who will be willing to way the game is played now, it’s fast, it’s dynamic, it’s very skill-based, bleed a little bit back there for the team I think when you have that, obviously. The game has done away with much of the physical aspect combined with hopefully a consistently good performance, that puts the and what used to maybe clog the game up a little bit. … The demand on guys in front of them more at ease but it also hopefully inspired them as the goalie — not just physiologically, but psychologically — has changed well. And we need that. We need an inspired team, don’t we?” incredibly, and the (margin) for error in goaltending today has never been smaller. It’s a position of perfection. The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021

“I think the majority of teams are and will be best served having two goalies that they can go to and rely on, and I think it helps to breed a healthy competition, as well.”

And it should be an open competition in Sharks training camp between Hill and Reimer. While Hill is an up-and-comer but is still somewhat unproven, Reimer has had a solid career, including 11 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, Sharks, Panthers and Hurricanes.

He was also Francilia’s first NHL client. And Francilia is impressed with how Reimer looks physically.

“In the 12 years I’ve been with him, this is probably the fittest and healthiest and leanest he’s ever been,” Francilia said of Reimer. “He’s done a tremendous job with his nutrition and just how he’s taking care of some holistic health and wellness aspects of his life. So, he’s a very healthy and fit 33-year old.”

Reimer isn’t coming in to play second fiddle, either.

“Obviously Adin is at an age where he’s a guy who is going to be obviously motivated to become a starting goaltender, but make no mistake about it, Reims is not coming in to take a backseat,” Francilia 1219248 San Jose Sharks “Another little intricacy to my model and how it works is from the skater side, I basically watch them for five years. I watch them from the pre-draft year until three years after their first eligible draft year,” Bader said. “And then after that point, there’s not a lot of room to move up at that point, if Bader Explains Why Sharks Have Top-5 Prospects Pool you’re not already hitting those big numbers.”

Anyway, seventh in Top 5 Star % Rank sounds solid, right?

By Sheng Peng Bader cautions, however, that Eklund and Merkley carry the top-five’s “average Star probability.” Dahlen, Wiesblatt, and Bordeleau don’t hold

as much weight i.e. different factors suggest that they’re not going to be Is the San Jose Sharks’ farm system back? NHL stars. In Dahlen’s case, it’s the 23-year-old’s age. In Wiesblatt and Bordeleau’s case, their production is solid but unspectacular for their According to NHL Draft consultant and data scientist Byron Bader — yes: age, at least so far in their development.

NHL TEAM PROSPECT POOL STRENGTH RANKINGS (JULY 2021 – WHAT’S WITH THE GOALIES? POST DRAFT) pic.twitter.com/Yitmy8L4kT Perhaps the biggest shock — bigger than the San Jose Sharks’ overall — Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) July 30, 2021 prospects ranking — was the organization’s number-one Goalie Rank.

Per the Hockey Prospecting founder’s model, the San Jose Sharks have So did San Jose secretly trade for Yaroslav Askarov? the fifth-strongest prospect pool and the top goalie prospect pool in the league. Here’s a primer for Bader’s model: Nope — it’s Adin Hill and Alexei Melnichuk carrying the load.

So plan the parade down Santa Clara Street? So how does Hill, who’s already played 49 NHL games, still count as a prospect? Let’s hold off on that. Don’t take my word for it — take Bader’s. “My flag for [making the NHL] for goalies is a 100-plus games [as “They have a lot of NHL-caliber pieces in their system. They have a really opposed to 200-plus for skaters] because they obviously play less. With good goalie system. Where it still needs a little bit of work is in their top- a goalie, because the development track is so huge for a goalie — they five [prospects of their system],” Bader told San Jose Hockey Now. “Add take much longer to develop than a defenseman or a forward,” Bader big star pieces like LA is doing. The Sharks don’t quite have that yet.” said. “I actually go back to 2015 [for goalies]. You know, have they played 100 games? And then if not, then I include them.” So how can a system be top-five though it doesn’t have a lot of likely stars? Bader was kind enough to answer that question, and many others So that explains Hill’s inclusion. What makes Hill stand out in Bader’s about his model. eyes?

“That’s what I always say about my model,” Bader stressed. “It’s not any It’s worth noting: Bader hasn’t come to a conclusion for what a star goalie thing trying to replace scouting. It kind of goes hand in hand, it’s is. So he’s simply saying that Hill and Melnichuk are high-probability complementary. If you use both of them together, that’s where you get NHL’ers, high average probability enough to vault San Jose to the top of the big wins, because the model can point you towards this is who you the charts. should be looking at.” Bader said of Hill, “When you look at him in the model, before he really, By the way, such a process — using Bader’s model as a guide for who to really played a game in the NHL, he had basically like a 74% chance of scout more closely — could have been helpful for NHL organizations making the NHL. He certainly looks like he’s gonna pass that 100-game during the 2016 NHL Draft. In the second round, Alex DeBrincat went mark.” 38th and Samuel Girard was picked 47th. How about Melnichuk and his underwhelming .868 AHL Save % in 2020- “These guys should definitely go probably top-15, at least in the first 21? round,” Bader recalled of his thinking. “And then they dropped and they both hit really big.” “Goalies, I track them for seven years. So I do it from their pre-draft year until five years after their first eligible year. So at this point, Melnichuk WHO ARE SHARKS’ STARS? has crossed over that point. His last year in the KHL was basically that D+5 season,” Bader explained. “So his work in the AHL actually doesn’t In Bader’s model, the San Jose Sharks are the seventh-best team in factor into my model, because I’ve already subtracted him at this point.” terms of Top 5 Star % Rank. This measures “the average Star probability of the top 5 [skater] prospects” in an organization. D+5 means five years after his first year of draft eligibility, the last season that Bader evaluates. So Melnichuk’s 2020-21 isn’t counted. He counts William Eklund, Ryan Merkley, Jonathan Dahlen, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and Thomas Bordeleau as San Jose’s top-five. Bader says he “After seven years of tracking, that’s what he looks like, he has a really pulls his top-five from in-market sources, like fans and bloggers, and in high probability of making the NHL,” Bader said. some cases, team executives. “There’s not a lot of [goalies], over the last 30-40 years, that have over an Sounds good, right? 80% chance of becoming an NHL’er. But he’s one of them.

This is Bader’s definition of a star: “My model is more based on “The early, really nice numbers in the KHL and VHL suggests that this production. guy has an NHL career in him.”

“So basically a forward star essentially is a career 0.7 or more points per So between Hill and Melnichuk, is either going to become a star? Once game NHL player. So roughly like 60-points-or-more-a-season guys. again, Bader’s model doesn’t project that. That’s pretty rare, basically that’s only, out of everybody drafted, it’s only about three-and-a-half to 4% of players hit this mark over their career. “They have the highest percentage of becoming [regular] NHL goalies,” he said. “Most systems, most teams don’t even have like one really high “For defenseman, it’s 0.45 points per game or more in their career. So probability goalie prospect.” that’s roughly like a 40-points-or-more defenseman. Same thing, hitting that mark is an outlier mark, about three to four percent sort of hit that Bader is working on defining a star goalie. over a career out of everybody drafted. “My model goes back 30 years. But trying to find what makes a star “That’s what the star flag in my model is, offensive elite production.” goalie is tough because the data isn’t even really there. Go back even 20 years and they’re not even tracking stuff like goals against average [in Bader clarified that goalies aren’t included at all in his Top 5 Star % other lower leagues] and that type of thing,” he said. Rank, for reasons that we’ll get to later. “That’s where I kind of struggle. Right now, kind of what I have for a star But essentially, Bader extrapolates a prospect’s lower-level production goalie is essentially a goalie that plays 200 or more games and they have and age to predict whether or not the player will become an NHL star. a high winning percentage.

“That’s a work in progress.” WHAT’S STRENGTH OF SHARKS SYSTEM?

So the San Jose Sharks don’t have a ton of likely star skaters — and their top-ranked goaltending doesn’t necessarily mean they have stars there either.

“They have a lot of guys with a 60% chance and a 50% chance and a 40% chance [of making the NHL], and then a few guys with that kind of 30% chance. So yeah, you add it up, and they actually have about 20 of these guys throughout their system,” Bader said. “And about half of them, they actually have drafted in the last three years. A lot of these guys are drafted in the last couple years and have some runway left to even improve on their possibilities.”

That, by the way, is Hockey Prospecting’s 30% NHLers Rank — the San Jose Sharks are fourth — it’s the number of players with a making the NHL probability of 30 percent or higher.

So the San Jose organization has plenty of depth — but maybe needs a little more cream on the top.

Bader’s model offers Artemi Kniazev, Tristen Robins, Danil Gushchin, Brinson Pasichnuk, Joachim Blichfeld, Noah Gregor, John Leonard, Brandon Coe, Ivan Chekhovich, as among those who have a better than average chance of making the NHL — by his definition, 200 or more NHL games played.

WHAT ABOUT MERKLEY?

After just 11 points in 31 AHL contests last season, it might be surprising to see Ryan Merkley still considered a star prospect.

This despite Merkley’s disappointing campaign, unlike Melnichuk’s, counting in Bader’s evaluation.

“Basically, his [OHL] numbers were so outrageous to begin with. The model doesn’t really see a problem with a fallback year like that,” Bader said of the 2017 first-rounder’s D+3 season. Remember, this will be the final year that Bader will track the skater.

“He’s kind of interesting because there’s not a lot of guys that look like him. And most of them had really impactful careers,” Bader pointed out.

“Going back to 1990, the ones that look like him are John Slaney, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Michael Del Zotto, Cam Fowler, Tony D’Angelo, and Quinn Hughes.

“But the model hasn’t seen that a lot, where you have these big, gigantic years, and then you really fall off like he did in his first year in AHL.”

So what do we believe? A dominant OHL run offensively — or a less- than-spectacular AHL debut?

San Jose Hockey NowLOADED: 08.10.2021 1219249 Seattle Kraken “I cannot remember what the song was but I remember the social confidence you must have to do that as a 15-year-old in a group of high- achieving athletic people who are driven to be the best and to be comfortable in their own skin,” Appert said. Face of the Kraken: Matthew Beniers’ journey has him primed to be Seattle’s future Having the confidence to sing show tunes in front of strangers was only the start. Christine was her son’s “roommate” for the two years they were in Plymouth. With an engineering degree from Cornell University, Christine pursued acting and then eventually became an attorney, so she By Ryan S. Clark Aug 9, 2021 knew the challenges of pursuing your dreams and wanted to give her son at least one constant.

Christine Beniers’ youngest child was barely 18 months old when it Beniers returned the favor by making sure his mother felt included, became clear Matty had way too much energy. There had to be a way to inviting teammates over to hang out with both of them. One weekend harness that excitement, so a decision was made to put him on skates. when Beniers and a teammate were not on a U.S. NTDP trip they even made Christine dinner, planning the menu and cooking every aspect of Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Pilgrim Skating Arena in Hingham, the meal. Mass., was the place to be because of its “Little People” program designed to get children on the ice. It sounded like the best outlet for a “I did not feel like it was difficult for them,” Christine said. “He’ll say, ‘let’s mother to take her exuberant child. The first time her child skated onto hang out with my mom’ and they came over and we’d play Taboo or the ice, he fell. He did it again. Twice more the child asked his mother if cards. It was really nice. I think that is how he is. He’s very inclusive, very they could go home because “this is too slippery.” kind, very thoughtful. He will talk to you if you have an issue. Even now, he will say, ‘OK, mom. Let’s talk. I know you are concerned about this. But six months later, the child returned. He never left the ice again. How are you going to manage?’ Not just with me, be it with coaches and teachers. He is proactive.” That energetic child became a promising teenager with a tireless work ethic and a two-way center who has everything needed to make his mark Part of what comes with playing at the U.S. NTDP is getting to play on the NHL. At 18 years old, Matthew Beniers, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 exhibition games against collegiate programs, like, well, Michigan. NHL Draft, is primed to one day be the face of the Seattle Kraken. Wolverines coach Mel Pearson was familiar with Beniers, but he had verbally committed to Harvard so Pearson ended his recruitment. “You have to have a strong mind,” Matthew Beniers’ father, Bob, said. “To be an athlete, you need sleep. He would stay up and study and do “I think I should have went through the handshake line and said, ‘Hey homework. I would be like, ‘Go to bed Matt,’ and he would keep studying. Matty. Do you want to transfer?'” Pearson joked about Beniers’ … He would be on the pond behind our house and would take backhand performance in the U.S. NTDP’s 4-1 win over Michigan. “… That was the shots for half an hour as an 8-year-old. One of his first weeks he was in beauty of Matty Beniers. It does not matter if he is going to play a Pee Michigan (at the U.S. National Team Development Program), he was in Wee team or the Tampa Bay Lightning — he plays the same way every the shooting room for so long that he got locked in the building. You can’t night. He just plays the game.” make that stuff up. It is who he is.” Let’s just say there was a bit of mutual respect. Practically every American-born teenager wanting to play in the NHL knows going to the U.S. NTDP can help them. Jack Eichel. Dylan Larkin. “After the game, you get to see your kid for five minutes before they get Auston Matthews. They are among the 85 alums who played in the NHL on the bus,” Bob recalled. “He goes, ‘Dad, Why didn’t we look at last season. Michigan? Did you see those fans? We were a scrimmage game and those stands were packed.’ I said to him, ‘You told them you did not want Matthew Beniers was a 15-year-old who spent years playing hockey and to visit and maybe you should have considered it.'” getting good grades when USA Hockey took notice and eventually offered him a chance to join its famed program. Christine, the woman Staying close to home was a consideration for Beniers when he was who put him on skates in the first place, was concerned about this new deliberating about his future, so it came down to Boston College or opportunity. She did not want her son living more than 700 miles away in Harvard. He went with the Crimson, but those plans changed when the Plymouth, Mich., and didn’t want to risk his academics suffering. pandemic led to Ivy League schools canceling their seasons.

“It’s a new city, a new school, a new (billet) family and a new team,” Trying to figure out the next step, Bob called Harvard coach Teddy Christine recalls. “That is a lot to ask of somebody and let’s try to take Donato to seek guidance. Bob spoke fondly about how Donato was not some of those things off Matty’s plate.” only understanding but helpful when he did not have to be.

Bob and Christine Beniers made a decision. Christine was going to move “I called Teddy and he said to not make any rash decisions and see what with him. With the blessing of their oldest child, Gianna, the family other options were available,” Bob said. “It was narrowed down to BC decided they were willing to be away from each other if it meant getting and Michigan. He just loved it in Michigan. He said he did not want to Matthew one step closer to his dream. leave the area. He had two or three guys from the NTDP who were going to Michigan. I think the scales were tipped because of Kris Mayotte. He Beniers’ two-year residency at the U.S. NTDP is often measured by the was the assistant at Providence and recruited Matty since he was 13. He fact he scored 131 points in 155 games. Seth Appert, who was a coach was our friend. My wife and I would see him at every rink.” in the program, saw it differently. He remembers a young man who talked about wanting it all and was willing to invest himself in the work of getting Mayotte was hired by Pearson to join his staff before the start of the there. 2019-20 season. He only stayed at Michigan for two years after recently being hired by Colorado College to take over its program. Still, the impact “We were texting about this last night (after Beniers was drafted),” Appert laid the foundation for Beniers to attend Michigan. recalled. “When you are talking about how good he can be … I said you should be a top 10 pick in the NHL Draft and I remember the look on his But there was a race against time to get paperwork completed. face. I told him there is a responsibility, work and pressure that goes into “In the summer, we had a small window for Matty to make a decision to that. I then told him, ‘You just showed me.'” get the application to the admissions office and we were fortunate he was But Beniers had that confidence from the first moment he arrived in a good student,” Pearson said. Michigan. New players at the U.S. NTDP meet as a team for the Pearson is more than aware of how everyone raves about Beniers’ orientation camp. From there, they are broken off into groups of two engine and work ethic. He said many players at that age like playing fast where they interview each other for 10 minutes and then share with the with the puck but do not often have that same approach when they don’t group what they learned. have the puck. He said Beniers plays with pace with and without the The teammate who interviewed Beniers shared that Beniers liked puck, while investing a high amount of energy on both sides of the ice. Broadway musicals, that his mother was once on Broadway and that he Beniers was part of a group — alongside Kent Johnson, Strauss Mann could sing, as well. Appert asked if Beniers was comfortable singing and and Owen Power — that would stay after practice to get extra work in. the teenager sang for the whole group as if it were nothing. There were nights Pearson would go eat dinner at the complex and that group would still be on the ice practicing their skills. “I’d have to tell them to get off the ice and get upstairs to eat dinner,” Pearson said. “I’d tell them that the people making dinner want to get home! You have to kick them off the ice. That is another example of how Matty is. Whenever he comes into the building, he can’t wait to see you come into the rink. He is just full of life and energy. He is such a positive kid. We all know people who are frumpy and down and just the negativity drags you down. Not him. His positivity lifts you up. There were probably days when I was down and his smile is just genuine.

“He makes your program better without even going on the ice. That is genuine and not any made-up shit. It’s not, ‘Let’s put on a show for the coaches or people watching.’ That is him being genuine.”

As for those practices between Beniers and Power, what’s that like as a coach to have the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the NHL Draft play for your program (Not to mention the No. 5 pick in Johnson and the No. 4 pick Luke Hughes is already committed to the Wolverines)?

Pearson, who was a longtime Michigan assistant under Red Berenson, said there were times when they had to stop practice because Beniers and Powers would push each other to a point where they did not want to risk someone getting hurt.

“To the point they almost want to fight,” Pearson said. “It gets to a point all of a sudden you forget who you are going against. They give a crosscheck to the back and we blow the whistle and say, ‘We’re done!’ You see it in practice where guys get to the edge. You want them to get to the line but never cross it. If they cross the line, they go cool off, but they are such good friends.”

Kraken GM Ron Francis announced the No. 2 pick. (Christopher Mast / 2021 NHLI)

It’s become a bit of a running joke in the Beniers’ household. If they are hosting a major event, then, there has to be a capital project. The Beniers are used to having several people at their home, but Christine did not want to have another party in the driveway for the NHL Draft. So the decision was made to build a backyard patio.

Bob could have hired someone to do the work. But he chose to do it himself, with Matthew; his brother, Bobby; and some of their friends helping. It took several days, including Matthew staying up until 1 a.m. the night before the draft to finish the just-under-300-square-foot patio.

Matthew filled the anxiety of the day by skating, workout out, fulfilling a promise by showing at Kevin Rooney’s hockey camp and running some errands before returning home for a pre-draft nap.

Bob said they kept hearing that the Kraken were going to use the second pick to take his son. But the Anaheim Ducks, holders of the No. 3 selection, sent some apparel just in case something happened.

Of course, when the moment came, Francis made the call not heard around the world as Beniers initially sent the phone call from the Kraken GM to voicemail. Bob said he was told his son ducked into their garage but did not see or hear about anything beyond that. Christine said it is possible that her son’s phone could have been on “Do Not Disturb” mode given that there was already a connectivity issue with the telecast’s attempt to show a live look at the Beniers’ home.

So that’s it, right? He got drafted, hung out with loved ones and was able to enjoy the moment. Guess again. Bob drove Matthew to the airport for his flight to Michigan for the World Junior Summer Showcase. He was not participating but still wanted to be out there and to get in some skating work. Their drive to Logan International Airport allowed them to talk about what many people were wondering: What would happen next?

Beniers will soon talk with Francis to plot the next court of action. On one hand, what prospect does not want to immediately sign an entry-level contract? On the other, why rush, especially when the Wolverines are massively loaded and are an overwhelming front-runner to capture a national title in 2021-22?

“I think as parents, we are in it for the right reasons,” Bob said. “I am not trying to get him to the NHL. I just want to help him get to what he wants. My wife is an actress and she believes you gotta chase your dream. Just like her parents did with her. … We’ve told him, ‘Whatever you want to do, we will help you.’ I think most parents would do the same.”

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Lightning’s Ross Colton settles with team ahead of arbitration hearing

With Colton’s signing, the team has brought back all seven players it made qualifying offers to ahead of free agency.

By Mari Faiello

TAMPA — The Lightning’s checklist appears to be complete.

Forward Ross Colton and the Lightning settled on a two-year deal Monday afternoon worth $1 million in 2021-22 and $1.25 million in 2022- 23. Colton’s agent, Lewis Gross, confirmed the deal in a message to the Tampa Bay Times.

With Colton’s new deal, the Lightning are $6.865 million over the salary cap, according to PuckPedia, with 22 players on their projected roster. The team can exceed the cap up to $6.875 with defenseman Brent Seabrook on the long-term injured reserve list (Seabrook came to Tampa Bay in a trade for Tyler Johnson).

Colton was the last player to sign with the Lightning of those who were made qualifying offers ahead of free agency. He had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for next Monday.

Colton, 24, made a key impression on coaches and the front office staff this past season, where he scored the winning goal against the Canadiens in Game 5 to clinch the Stanley Cup.

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 Feb. 24 NHL debut, he opened the scoring in the 3-0 win against the Hurricanes.

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

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

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Lightning’s Jon Cooper to coach Team Canada in Beijing Winter Olympics

While the NHL’s participation isn’t final yet, the Tampa Bay coach possibly may make his Olympics debut in 2022.

By Mari Faiello

TAMPA — After winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Lightning, coach Jon Cooper is chasing another kind of world title.

The Lightning head coach, of Prince George, British Columbia, will lead the Canadian men’s hockey team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. That is, if NHL players are allowed to participate.

The league and the International Olympic Committee have yet to come to an agreement. Despite the uncertainty, the NHL planned an Olympic break in its 2021-22 schedule, which was released in late July.

Along with Cooper, three assistant coaches were also named for Team Canada: Islanders coach Barry Trotz, Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer and Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.

“It’s humbling and a privilege to be a part of this group,” Cooper said Monday afternoon on a Team Canada media call. “I may have the moniker of head coach, but we’re all head coaches on this team and we’re all going to work together as a group and have fun as a group and there’s such a wealth of knowledge in all these coaches.”

Congrats, Coop! https://t.co/Hj6Ig4XQz1

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 9, 2021

Team Canada knows events can change on the flip of a dime, even if an agreement is reached. The Tokyo Games just wrapped up and were held without spectators and strict protocols for athletes. There already are plans to have even stricter precautions in place when the Winter Games open in China.

But those involved are not letting circumstances deter any of the excitement surrounding the possibility of the NHL returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2012.

On Friday, coaches and management staff held a meeting, which coincidentally came right around the time Team Canada defeated Team Sweden in the women’s Olympic gold medal soccer match.

“Literally, the penalty kick went in and then we had to start our meeting,” Cooper recalled. “Everybody was pumped up on the meeting. That’s all we talked about for probably the first 10 minutes ... it was so exciting to watch the Olympics on this side of everything.”

Cooper, the longest tenured coach in the league after eight seasons with the Lightning, is no stranger to the big stage. In addition to winning two Stanley Cups, he has an IIHF World Championship silver medal (he was the head coach of Team Canada in 2017) and a Calder Cup (he was head coach of Norfolk in 2011-12).

And he knows the challenge ahead won’t be any easier.

“What more exciting time is there as a coach (than to be) part of the Stanley Cup final — and I’ve been fortunate to be in a few of those — but to be a part of the Olympic Games, it’s the Olympic Games,” he said. “I’m fired up just talking about it. It’s an exciting time.”

Growing up, Cooper spent much of his childhood shooting at the open laundry dryer in the basement of his family home. He joked that the puck marks on the outer part of the dryer hint as to why he never made it as an NHL player.

With his background and upbringing, he understands first-hand the opportunity he has before him to contribute to Canada’s rich history in the sport. And he doesn’t plan on wasting it.

“It’s surreal to be in this spot,” he said. “I don’t want to say it’s a lifelong dream, but in the end, to be able to say you’re representing Canada in Olympic , I couldn’t be more proud.” 1219252 Toronto Maple Leafs

Lots of talent for Team Canada bosses to choose from

Lance Hornby

Carey Price, Marc-Andre Fleury or the hottest other goalie in net?

Go with trusted Drew Doughty on D or someone younger?

Will Nathan MacKinnon be the new Crosby or does Sid The Kid have another Golden Goal left in him?

Though it may be a wasted exercise to pick a Team Canada men’s Olympic side when NHL participation is in doubt, at least the coaches and management are now in place to start. General manager Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues said a long list was worked on going back to last year for a planned summer orientation camp, before the COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately endured. But if the Red and White has to be blended without introductions just before the Games, he’s not concerned.

“What I’ve found working with Team Canada in 2010 and ‘14, is that the top players usually have the top hockey minds and are willing to adapt to anything over a short period,” Armstrong said Monday.

“We want to work with the coaches to make sure we have the proper faceoff people, good penalty killers, proper power-play guys. One thing we’ve seen is our centremen can go to the wing and we usually have a lot more than the four required. It will be skills-based, skating team. There are a lot of riches we can choose from.”

Armstrong said Jon Cooper was chosen coach because his Lightning teams have diversity in key areas.

“Jon’s team are fun to watch, but they also compete in the right areas, in front of both nets. We’re not going over there just thinking it will be a shootout. We have to have a group of players who will buy into that.”

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2 Golden Knights coaches named to Canada’s Olympic staff

By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal

Two Golden Knights coaches will be on Team Canada’s staff if the NHL goes to the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Knights coach Pete DeBoer will be an assistant for coach Jon Cooper, fresh of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He will be joined by Knights director of hockey operations Misha Donskov, who will be the special assistant of coaching operations.

DeBoer is 55-19-4 since coming to Las Vegas and has led the team to consecutive semifinal appearances. He has extensive international experience, having been a Canada assistant for four World Championships, two U20 events and one U18 competition.

Donskov took a more on-ice role with the Knights last season. He helped many of the players with skill development before and after practice, including Max Pacioretty, William Carrier and Keegan Kolesar.

The two could be joined by several Knights players on Team Canada. Captain Mark Stone and defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore are strong candidates to make the squad. Former Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury could be in the mix as well.

The other coaches on Canada’s staff are Boston’s Bruce Cassidy and the New York Islanders’ Barry Trotz.

It is not official if the NHL allow its players to participate in the 2022 Beijing Games. Negotations are still ongoing with the International Olympic Committee to confirm the league’s participation.

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Golden Knights’ Pete DeBoer named Team Canada assistant coach for 2022 Olympics

By Justin Emerson

Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer will serve as an assistant coach for Team Canada’s men’s hockey team at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, Hockey Canada announced today.

In addition, Golden Knights Director of Hockey Operations Misha Donskov was named Team Canada’s special assistant of coaching operations.

DeBoer, a Dunnville, Ontario, native, will work under head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning) and alongside fellow assistants Bruce Cassidy (Boston Bruins) and Barry Trotz (New York Islanders).

This will be DeBoer’s first stint as an Olympic coach, but he has represented Canada on the world’s stage numerous times.

He was on the coaching staff for Canada’s 2015 World Championship gold medal, as well as in 2014 and 2010. He also helped coach the 2005 World Junior Championship squad that won gold.

The NHL is planning on sending players and coaches to both the 2022 and 2026 Olympics after missing the 2018 Games. There is a three-week break written into this year’s schedule. Coronavirus protocols, however, may prevent NHL representatives from participating, and a new schedule will be released if that is the case.

Canada won gold at the 2010 and 2014 Games, the last two in which NHL players participated. Canada also won in 2002.

DeBoer could be taking a few Vegas players with him to Beijing. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was on the 2014 team in Sochi, and Mark Stone and Shea Theodore are considered strong possibilities for this year’s team. It’s also possible former goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, traded to Chicago this offseason, suits up for Canada.

DeBoer could also face several of his current players. Max Pacioretty is expected to garner consideration for Team USA, and Team Sweden could have William Karlsson and Robin Lehner represent the Golden Knights.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219255 Vegas Golden Knights

Pete DeBoer Named Olympics Assistant for Team Canada

By Dan Kingerski

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will have a little bit of Vegas Golden Knights flavor. Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champion, will be the head coach, but Team Canada announced that Golden Knights bench boss Pete DeBoer will be an assistant.

As part of the league’s give back to the NHLPA for agreeing to the new CBA and playing in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs bubble in Edmonton and Toronto, the league agreed to let the players go to the 2022 and 2026 Olympics.

Despite some questions about feasibility and extenuating circumstances, such as COVID-19 and its variants, the league built a three-week break into the 2021-22 schedule.

Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy and New York Islanders boss Barry Trotz will be the other assistant coaches.

DeBoer first assisted Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in 2005, which was a star-studded affair. The NHL lockout allowed future Hall of Famers like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Evgeni Malkin to play in the tournament held in Grand Forks, ND. Team Canada won gold with a team that mostly played in the NHL the following season.

Also on that 2005 team under assistant coach DeBoer were Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter, Corey Perry, and Shea Weber.

Brent Sutter was the head coach.

DeBoer’s coaching career includes four NHL head-coaching stops, Florida, New Jersey, San Jose, and the Golden Knights. His San Jose Sharks team lost in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final to Pittsburgh.

Presuming no COVID delays or shortening, DeBoer will coach his 1000th NHL game late this season. In 933 games, his record is 470-338-115 (.544).

DeBoer may be reunited with now-former Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is said to be very interested in playing in the 2022 Olympics, as well as current players Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo, who are strong contenders for the Team Canada squad. Pietrangelo played for Team Canada in 2010.

Canada has won the last two NHL-included Olympics, 2010 and 2014. The NHL did not participate in 2018, and the team which represented the Russian federation won gold.

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Capitals re-sign goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $2 million deal

Samantha Pell

The Washington Capitals re-signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one- year, $2 million contract Monday. The Russian netminder, who was a restricted free agent but did not opt for arbitration, is the projected No. 1 starter this season for a veteran Capitals group.

This deal is seen as a very short “bridge” deal mainly based on Samsonov’s past performance and his risk-vs.-reward potential rather than purely a salary cap crunch situation. Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said before free agency opened that Samsonov had a “little inconsistency” last season and a shorter deal probably would work best for both parties.

The 24-year-old was 13-4-1 with a 2.69 goals against average and a .902 save percentage in 19 games (18 starts) last season. He was 0-3 with a 2.99 goals against average and an .899 save percentage in three playoff games.

He spent time on the NHL’s coronavirus list twice, including a six-week stint early in the season and a two-week period that bled into the first round of the playoffs. He suffered multiple covid-19 symptoms when he first tested positive in January, which slowed his return midseason.

With his new five-year deal, Alex Ovechkin sets his sights on Wayne Gretzky’s goal record

With Samsonov out, then-rookie goaltender Vitek Vanecek was thrust into the starting role after entering the year as the team’s No. 3 option on the depth chart. He was a key piece in the Capitals’ campaign and surpassed expectations. He was the starting goalie for the postseason before suffering an injury in the opening game.

He was briefly no longer part of the Capitals’ organization after he was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft July 21. Each team was allowed to protect only one goaltender in the draft, and Vanecek wasn’t the clear No. 1 moving forward. Washington chose to protect Samsonov.

However, after Vanecek was selected by Seattle, it left a gaping hole in the Capitals’ projected goalie tandem, and it turned out the best replacement for Vanecek as the team’s backup goalie was Vanecek himself. The Capitals dealt a 2023 second-round draft pick to reacquire Vanecek from Seattle on July 28 — the first day of free agency.

The draft pick Washington sent to Seattle was a second-rounder the Capitals acquired from Winnipeg when it traded defenseman Brenden Dillon.

The deal bringing Vanecek back to Washington was made the same day Seattle signed goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $5.9 million.

Grubauer’s signing put him atop the goalie depth chart in Seattle, with Chris Driedger presumed to fill the No. 2 role. The Kraken selected Driedger, who was an unrestricted free agent, in the expansion draft from Florida and signed him to a three-year deal. That would have left Vanecek as the Kraken’s No. 3, the same spot he found himself in last season in Washington before he ascended to No. 1.

Vanecek and Samsonov are slated to be the Capitals’ goalie tandem heading into next season — barring any additional moves. The Capitals’ season opener is Oct. 13 against the New York Rangers at .

Washington Post LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219257 Washington Capitals

The pressure is on Caps' Samsonov as he re-signs for 1 year

BY J.J. REGAN

The Capitals re-signed goalie Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $2 million deal as announced Monday, solidifying the team's goalie tandem for next season but providing little clarity on the team's future in net.

A first-round draft pick in 2015, Samsonov, 24, has long been hailed as Washington's future starter. He went 13-4-1 with a .902 save percentage and 2.69 GAA in a largely inconsistent 2021 season. He returned in the Stanley Cup playoffs and played very well showing he remains the team's top option in the crease for now, but the implication of a one-year deal for a 24-year-old budding starter is clear: it is time to deliver.

Samsonov was not available for the 2020 postseason due to an injury he suffered in an ATV accident during the break between the NHL's COVID- 19 pause and its resumption in the bubble that summer.

In 2021, Samsonov was found to be in violation of league health and safety protocols that resulted in him and three of his teammates being placed on the NHL's COVID-19 absence list. He then tested positive for COVID and missed more than a month. Later in the season, Samsonov and center Evgeny Kuznetsov were benched for a game for being late to a team function and both landed again on the COVID list.

Samsonov's deal comes the same day the Philadelphia Flyers signed 22- year-old goalie Carter Hart to a three-year deal with a cap hit of over $3.9 million and the New York Rangers signed 25-year-old goalie Igor Shesterkin to a four-year contract. Though the financial terms have not been officially disclosed, Frank Seravalli reports Shesterkin will have a cap hit of $5.65 million.

The Caps did not have the cap room to offer Samsonov large deals like the ones Hart or Shesterkin got so this new contract allows both sides to renegotiate next year. But regardless of whether Samsonov's one-year deal is a product of the salary cap or a reflection of his off-ice struggles, this sets up a massive "prove it" year for the young netminder. He needs to deliver both on and off the ice if he hopes to cash in on his next deal and be paid like a starter. Otherwise, his future in Washington will come into question.

Samsonov's new contract leaves the Caps with just over $1.4 million of cap space. That would be enough to add rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary's $791,667 cap hit for next season if he makes the NHL roster as expected.

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What was the worst offseason move in the Metropolitan Division?

BY J.J. REGAN & ANDREW GILLIS

The Metropolitan Division looks different than it did just a few weeks ago. Trades have been made, the free agent frenzy is over and teams are finalizing their rosters. There may be a few late moves coming later, but as of now, which team made the worst move of the offseason? Andrew Gillis and JJ Regan discuss.

Andrew: Tony DeAngelo signing,

Allow me to start off by saying that Tony DeAngelo is, in fact, a talented hockey player.

He’s a defenseman that can score and is generally an excellent possession player. As a right-handed shot that can drive play, there’s not much to dislike about his puck-moving style of play on the ice. The problem is his off-ice conduct is downright offensive and problematic.

DeAngelo, 25, was drafted by the Lightning in 2014 before being traded to the Coyotes in 2016. He was shipped off a year later to the Rangers, who placed him on unconditional waivers on July 23 of this year. Five days later, the Hurricanes were more than eager to scoop him up to a $1 million contract.

In his career, DeAngelo was suspended twice in the OHL including for violating the league policy covering “homophobic, racist and sexist language,” toward a teammate, as well as abuse of officials. With the Coyotes, he was suspended for three games for physical abuse of officials. Then, the last straw with the Rangers came when he was reportedly involved in an altercation with his goaltender, Alexandar Georgiev, in the tunnel. He was waived shortly thereafter.

His career has been littered with suspensions for his conduct off-ice, benchings for maturity issues and wild interactions with fans over social media involving politics.

The Hurricanes allowed that into their locker room. Apparently, the risk of completely overturning the locker room with a talented player is worth $1 million.

JJ: Alex Nedeljkovic trade, Carolina Hurricanes

How do you know a team had a bad offseason? When we both pick different moves from the same team as the worst move in the division.

The Hurricanes have been building something special the last few years, but with a question mark in the net. Petr Mrazek and James Reimer are not good enough to take a team over the top as a championship contender. Alex Nedeljkovic, however, looked like an up-and-coming NHL starter so it was stunning to see Carolina trade him away to Detroit for a just third-round draft pick.

In 2021 as a rookie, Nedeljkovic went 15-5-3 with a .932 save percentage and 1.90 GAA. In the playoffs, he managed. a .920 save percentage and 2.17 GAA in nine games. He is only 25. Carolina traded him away because they could not get a deal done and they did not want to risk him going to arbitration. That would be reasonable if Nedeljkovic didn't turn around and sign a two-year deal for $6 million with Detroit.

That was too rich for Carolina? Even if he was looking for more money from the Hurricanes, if he was willing to sign a contract like that with one of the worst teams in the NHL, you have to think a deal could have gotten done in Carolina if the Hurricanes had really wanted to.

This is a player who addressed the team's biggest weakness both for now and the future. Yet, the Hurricanes scoffed at what looks like a reasonable and affordable contract, traded him away to avoid arbitration and only got a third-round pick for him in return. Plus, now they have a goalie tandem of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta which looks about his reliable as its former tandem of Mrazek and Reimer. Trading away Nedeljkovic was a bafflingly horrible move.

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Vancouver Canucks sign defenceman Juolevi to one-year extension

The 23-year-old blueliner will make a league minimum $750,000 in the 2021-22 season.

Scott Brown

Defenceman Olli Juolevi has signed a one-year contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.

Juolevi, who the Canucks selected fifth overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, scored two goals and one assist in 23 games last season, his first regular-season NHL campaign.

The 23-year-old blueliner will make the league minimum $750,000 in the 2021-22 season.

“Last season was an important step in Olli’s development as an everyday NHL defenceman,” said Canucks general manager Jim Benning. “We’re glad to have him signed and look forward to his game progressing further next season.”

Prior to joining the Canucks, Juolevi spent two injury-plagued seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20) with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate , collecting 38 points and 26 penalty minutes in 63 games.

He also appeared in one playoff game with the Canucks in 2020.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.10.2021 1219260 Vancouver Canucks he’s not in the opening night lineup, Rathbone should be gearing up to log 25 minutes per game with Abbotsford.

The problem is that because the Canucks will be in long-term injured How Olli Juolevi’s league-minimum, 1-year deal impacts the third-pair reserve (LTIR) as a result of holding Micheal Ferland’s contract, if training camp battle Rathbone doesn’t begin the season on the Canucks’ 23-man roster, then his cap hit will balloon to about $1.49 million to account for his Schedule A performance bonuses. In other words, re-assigning Rathbone would make it more complicated to recall him later in the season. By Thomas Drance Aug 10, 2021 Juolevi and Hunt, meanwhile, require waivers. So there’s a risk

associated with either player not being on the opening night 23-man Olli Juolevi was entitled to a higher NHL-level salary, if he’d only roster. accepted his qualifying offer. The fact that both players are on one-way contracts might help them get That qualifying offer, however, would’ve been a two-way deal, based on through, but it’s tough to gauge what interest might look like for either his lack of an NHL track record. So there was risk associated with it. The player this far out from training camp. It’s also worth noting that because risk that if he’d been sent to the minors, he would’ve earned a very low of his rare combination of draft pedigree and a lack of foot speed, salary in his age-23 season. Juolevi, in particular, is one of the toughest waiver-risk cases to gauge that I can remember. Instead, Juolevi opted to sign a league-minimum, one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks, who drafted him fifth overall in 2016 and has stood Because of how Rathbone’s cap hit morphs if he’s “below the line” on by him through a variety of injuries and surgeries and false starts in his opening day, one would expect that the club’s preference would be to young professional career to this point. keep him on the roster for opening day at least, and place one of Juolevi or Hunt on waivers prior to the season. Although again, this Canucks The deal is a one-way contract, sources confirmed to The Athletic. That organization is a rare example of a team that should be believed when it means that Juolevi is guaranteed $750,000 in pro-rated salary regardless insists that the best players at training camp will make the team. of whether he spends the 2021-22 campaign in the NHL or in the American Hockey League. It’s too early to model this out in any further detail than that. Hughes hasn’t even signed yet, so obviously there’s still a lot of uncertain road It’s perhaps paradoxical, but by signing at a lower NHL number, Juolevi left to run here. has also enhanced his chances of making this team out of camp — and spending the majority of the season on the 23-man roster, if not That Juolevi has now signed a one-year contract for the league necessarily in the lineup. minimum, however, clarifies the basic shape of this particular training camp roster battle. He’ll be in the running for the third-pair left defender It might be a relatively marginal factor, but it matters. The competition is spot outright but will likely need to at least beat out Hunt at training camp stiff on the left side of Vancouver’s defense. Behind Quinn Hughes and to avoid being placed on waivers. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, one of the most fascinating Canucks training camp battles is shaping up to take place along the left side of the club’s How likely is Juolevi to win that race for the vacant lefty third-pair job in third pair. the opening night lineup? He’d seem to be the third horse in a three- horse race going into the final turn, but the club is still high on his overall Juolevi is one of the contenders, but he’ll have to beat out Jack Rathbone abilities. and Brad Hunt. While Juolevi’s skating ability — impacted by a variety of injuries and an Rathbone shone in his late-season cameo for the Canucks, and brings a invasive surgical procedure on his knee in 2019 — hasn’t progressed to level of speed and offensive dynamism that Juolevi hasn’t approached in the point that the club trusted him to defend against top competition as a his 24 NHL-level appearances in this career. rookie, make no mistake, the club still believes in the player.

Hunt is an NHL-level player, without question. The versatile defender There’s a skill level that the club admires, a skill level evident in the way hasn’t played in the AHL in five years. In fact, the last time Hunt was Juolevi passes, handles and shoots the puck, and a high-end hockey recalled from the AHL in December 2016, he was the league’s leading intelligence. scorer. And not just among defensemen. There’s also a certain admirable adaptability that Juolevi has By coming in at a lower cap hit than Rathbone ($925,000 plus demonstrated. When his skating took a knock following his knee surgery, performance bonuses) and Hunt ($800,000), Juolevi would now be the for example, Juolevi transformed himself into an ace penalty killer with most economical third-pair left-side option for the Canucks’ Utica. Unable to produce the sort of rushes with his feet that helped consideration. If he can even keep the competition close at training camp make him the fifth overall pick in 2016, Juolevi committed to becoming an in September, his lower cap hit should give him the inside track to at ace shot blocker and mastering the subtleties of defending in a stationary least be the club’s fourth lefty defender on the NHL roster. phase of the game at the AHL level.

It’s an unromantic reality of the contemporary NHL that filling out the It’s hard not to root for and admire a player willing to compete in that bottom end of a club’s roster is as much about cap minutiae and marginal manner. efficiency as it is about training camp performance. And while the Canucks have repeatedly shown that they’re willing to prioritize camp The club is hopeful that another healthy offseason will see Juolevi come performance ahead of contractual commitments — see: Tyler Motte back with some extra zip in his stride. Jim Benning’s belief in the player beating out Sam Gagner at camp in 2018, Josh Leivo doing the same to has never wavered and while coach Travis Green might have used Sven Baertschi in 2019, Zack MacEwen to Jake Virtanen ahead of the Juolevi in a prescribed manner last season, he still believes that Juolevi bubble tournament in 2020 — there’s going to be a ton of cap-related could be a difference-maker for his club next season. factors to weigh in this roster battle in particular. Internally there’s a hope that Juolevi’s ability to pivot and defend in space The most complicated factor to account for in this battle is Rathbone. will come along as his knee surgery fades into a more distant memory. Now, if Rathbone is the best of the three options, then that’s simple. He’s If it’s going to happen though, it really has to happen this summer. in the lineup and you figure out the additional $125,000-$175,000 in cap space elsewhere. It’s a small enough number that it’s probably not a big The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021 deal.

If Rathbone doesn’t beat out Hunt and Juolevi, then there’s a lot for Vancouver to consider.

While the club will obviously be willing to have a journeyman such as Hunt or a younger player who requires waivers such as Juolevi gather dust in the press box as a depth defender, Rathbone’s ceiling, skill set and waiver-exempt status make it urgent that he log meaningful professional minutes — something he was unable to do last season. If 1219261 Websites Slovakia’s hockey program has been down for a while, with only one draft pick in 2021 in the fourth round, but this age group looked like a different story. The Slovakians has top guys for this year’s draft in Slafkovsky and Nemec, but also its depth. Dalibor Dvorsky, a 2023 draft- The Athletic / NHL Draft 2022 top prospects: Standouts from the Hlinka eligible, was a leading scorer in the tournament, while fellow 2023 Gretzky Cup eligibles Alex Ciernik and Ondrej Molnar stood out too. Filip Mesar is a talented scorer with potential to be drafted in the first three rounds next

summer. There were players up and down the lineup who could generate By Corey Pronman Aug 9, 2021 offense and have draft intrigue, and goaltender Ratislav Elias wasn’t too shabby, either.

Elias Salomonsson, RHD, Sweden, 2022 eligible BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — With the 2021 NHL Draft barely in the rearview mirror, attention has already turned to the 2022 NHL Draft. The I was very high on Salomonsson last season, watching him at Sweden’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup concluded on Sunday, with every NHL team in J20 level. His tournament did not however hit the bar I expected of him. attendance watching the top 2022 NHL draft-eligible prospects. Russia You saw flashes of the talent, as a 6-foot-2, mobile defenseman with and Slovakia met in the gold medal game with Russia emerging as the skill, but he didn’t make a ton of plays, making some poor decisions with victor. the puck and overall lacking an impact in the game, leaving Sweden without a true difference-maker on the team. What follows are my thoughts on some of the top prospects at the tournament, which did not feature Canada this year. 2022 NHL Draft candidates for the top three rounds

Matvei Michkov, RW, Russia, 2023 eligible Finland: Kasper Kulonummi, RHD; Otto Salin, RHD; Topi Ronni, C

The MVP of the U18 worlds in the spring against the 2003 age group, it’s Kulonummi and Salin both intrigue as roughly similar-sized defensemen no surprise Michkov dominated the 2004 age group. His puck skills, who can skate and move the puck well, although I think the former has hockey sense and shot all get extremely high grades. He’s one of the more skill. Ronni also showed good skating and playmaking ability. most creative players I’ve seen in recent years, making unique plays with Russia: Ruslan Gazivov, RW; Alexander Perevalov, RW the puck at a very high rate while scoring goals at an incredible frequency for a player his age at the levels he’s played at. Michkov is not Gazivov isn’t the quickest or biggest forward, but his skill and playmaking the biggest and his skating is good, not great, with great edgework but stood out consistently and, despite his size, he showed he could win lacking separation speed. But his puck game is special enough to make battles. Perevalov played more as the tournament progressed. He’s not him a truly elite prospect. the quickest, but he’s very skilled, smart and competed well off the puck.

Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW, Russia, 2022 eligible Slovakia: Filip Mesar, LW

I rated Miroshnichenko as my No. 2 prospect in my way too early 2022 Mesar lacks ideal size, but he’s a strong skater, has a very high skill level draft ranking. I thought he was one of the best forwards at the Hlinka, but and is a mid-range shot threat. wasn’t amazing. Today I would say the answer to the question “Who is next after Shane Wright” is a shoulder shrug or, more pointedly, there is Sweden: Filip Bystedt, C; Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW; Mattias Havelid, a big group of guys who have to prove themselves in the coming season. RHD; Noah Ostlund, C Miroshnichenko has a lot of NHL attributes. He’s very skilled, smart and Bystedt was intriguing as a center with decent size who can skate, play a physical, has a bullet shot, and is a hard competitor. He’s a good skater, good two-way game and showed good sense with the puck, even if the but his game didn’t have as much pace as I thought when I watched as offense doesn’t truly pop. Lekkerimaki is a very skilled and intelligent an underage. forward who can run a power play but isn’t a great skater. I rated Havelid Juraj Slafkovsky, RW, Slovakia, 2022 eligible as a late first-rounder coming into the tournament, but now I’m not sure if that will hold. I appreciate his great playmaking ability, but for a smaller Slafkovsky was a standout in the tournament and a big reason for defenseman, he didn’t look too dynamic. Ostlund is a good skater with Slovakia’s success, albeit not the only reason. He’s easy to spot on the great skill but didn’t stand out offensively as you hoped a smaller forward ice as a 6-foot-4 forward who skates well for a big man, has great puck would. skills, can make plays, possesses a hard shot and doesn’t shy from physical play. In the aforementioned 2022 grouping after Wright, : Gavin Hayes, RW; Ryan Healey, RHD; Cam Lund, RW; Slafkovsky is for sure a candidate, with some scouts suggesting he could Zam Plante, LW; Sam Rinzel, RHD be in the mix to be the second or third pick next summer. Hayes is a skilled forward who competes well physically. He lacks pull- Simon Nemec, RHD, Slovakia, 2022 eligible away speed but his game is well-rounded enough. Healey was one of the best pure skaters at the tournament with some skill, but his reads and Nemec was the clear best defenseman in the tournament. He’s not the decisions were concerning. Lund looks to have all the tools. He can biggest defender, but he’s got everything else. He’s a strong, albeit not skate, has hands, can make and finish plays, but his compete was explosive skater who competes hard and can make a lot of stops. He has inconsistent. Plante’s hockey sense stands out and he’s a great high-end hockey sense and can make a ton of plays with the puck at playmaker, but for his size he lacks ideal NHL speed. Rinzel didn’t play both ends of the ice. His shot was a threat, too. His lack of elite skating much but when he did he was intriguing as a 6-foot-4 defenseman who might keep him from getting in the mix as a top-five pick, but I think he can skate and make some offensive plays. fits comfortably in the 6-12 range of the draft, especially given how well he’s already played versus men. The Athletic LOADED: 08.10.2021

Joakim Kemell, LW, Finland, 2022 eligible

Kemell was the clear best player on Finland’s team and stood out consistently when he was on the ice. He’s got every NHL asset you want except size. He’s a good skater, and he’s a very skilled and creative player with the puck. He showed strong passing ability and a very hard shot that could score from range. Kemell also didn’t look purely like a skill type, as he worked hard off the puck and displayed some physicality. He plays in JYP, the same team as consensus top Finnish prospect Brad Lambert. Lambert is still the top guy in that country, but given how good Kemell looked at the Hlinka and the U18 worlds, he’s closing that gap and could work his way into the top tier of the 2022 draft with a good start to his club season.

Team Slovakia 1219262 Websites interior is a recipe for disaster. And in the case of Ottawa, the team struggled defending the heart of the net. Moreover, they were turnover machines in the defensive third:

TSN.CA / Are the Sens solid enough in goal for next season? We do see quality goaltenders manage through otherwise poor defensive teams from time to time – New York’s Henrik Lundqvist was notorious for Our Seven Questions series opened last week focusing on a critical bailing his defensive groups out and more recently, Winnipeg’s Connor approaching season for Pierre-Luc Dubois in Winnipeg and a new-look Hellebuyck has made an art of it. blue line in Calgary. Today, we head to Ottawa and ask a simple question: Is the goaltending healthy enough to deliver a playoff team next Perhaps Murray is prepared for the bounce-back season Ottawa wanted season? to see last year, or perhaps a developing goaltender like Gustavsson pushes his way into more starts. Whatever ends up happening, I suspect the leash on the Ottawa goaltenders this season will be short: a front office wagering so aggressively on a lower budget draft-and-develop By Travis Yost strategy can ill afford substandard goaltending underpinning it.

Doubly so when ownership believes it’s primed for Stanley Cup Our Seven Questions series opened last week focusing on a critical contention in short order! approaching season for Pierre-Luc Dubois in Winnipeg and a new-look TSN.CA LOADED: 08.10.2021 blue line in Calgary. Today, we head to Ottawa and ask a simple question: Is the goaltending healthy enough to deliver a playoff team next season?

Ottawa is in a fascinating transition period right now. Ownership and the front office has persistently guided to the fan base that a contending team is here, and yet despite some impressive prospect development over the last couple of seasons, we are still talking about a club that finished 23rd in the NHL last season. The Senators again opted to defer spending in free agency, though some of that money is surely carved out for upcoming extensions to the likes of Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson. Long story short: Ottawa is doubling down on the core of young players it has amassed.

Regardless of your confidence in Ottawa’s rebuild, one thing is certain: the team is betting just as much on a Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg, and (restricted free agent) Filip Gustavsson triumvirate to deliver next year. Nothing can devastate a young team like poor goaltending, and unfortunately the Senators fought through a lot of that last season. Consider last year’s tandem.

On the positive side of the ledger: prospect Filip Gustavsson had a great NHL debut over a nine-game stretch last season, erasing some of the stop rate concerns the club was seeing with their AHL affiliate in Belleville. Entering his ‘age-23’ season and with the loss of Joey Daccord to Seattle, the opportunity is there for Gustavsson to earn a bunch of starts.

That opportunity may present itself even faster if Matt Murray’s production sustains for another year. The Senators made a sizable bet on Murray a season ago, signing him to a $25 million deal and contractually entrenching him into a starter role. Ottawa was also trying to buy low on a player whose numbers sank in a contract season.

One year does not define a contract, but that doesn’t make year one any less spooky. Ottawa’s goaltenders may have the unenviable task of playing behind a very young and, in some cases, immature defensive group, but adjusting for the shot quality faced does not paint a better picture. We assess Murray was 15 goals worse than expected based on the shot profile he faced last year; add Marcus Hogberg into that group, and you are 27-goals underwater. Said another way: if the Senators had erased 27-goals from the record last season, bringing the team’s goaltending production to league average levels, the team would have finished minus-7 in goals over the course of the season.

Another team that finished minus-7 goals over the course of the season? The Montreal Canadiens, who fell short of the Stanley Cup by three games.

I don’t want to entirely discount the net effect the Senators skating group had on the goaltenders last season. Ottawa’s goaltending was deeply underwhelming, but it’s also true they faced a difficult shot profile relative to most of their peers. If we break out defensive measures by game state (expected goals; shot volume faced adjusted for the quality of those shots), we see the pressure manifested at every level:

5-on-5 expected goals against: 2.5, 24th in the NHL

Shorthanded expected goals against: 5.6, 22nd in the NHL

3-on-3 expected goals against: 7.0, 19th in the NHL

All of the goaltending mistakes aside, this sort of defensive play is untenable – such a heavy volume of shooting from the low slot and 1219263 Websites

USA TODAY / Chicago Blackhawks' radio color analyst Troy Murray diagnosed with cancer

Alyssa Hertel

Chicago Blackhawks radio color analyst Troy Murray announced through the team Monday that he has been diagnosed with cancer.

In a statement, Murray, also a former player, said: “I want to let everyone know of the challenge that I’m currently facing. I have been diagnosed with cancer. With the love and support of my family, friends, the Wirtz family, the Chicago Blackhawks organization and WGN radio I’m confident that together, we will beat this.”

He said that he’s looking forward to returning to the booth to call games, and asked for privacy while he and his family move forward with treatment. Murray didn't detail the type of cancer or the extent of his diagnosis.

Murray, who was drafted by Chicago in 1980, spent 15 years in the NHL, starting in 1982, when he joined the Blackhawks for one regular season game and seven playoff games. He spent the next nine seasons in Chicago.

During his final years playing professional hockey, Murray bounced between the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, and he returned to Chicago twice in 1992 and 1993. He retired in 1997 after a full season with the in the now-defunct International Hockey League.

In 915 career regular-season NHL games, he had 230 goals, 584 points and 875 penalty minutes.

Murray won an NCAA title with the University of North Dakota in 1982, just before joining the Blackhawks in the playoffs. In 1986, he won the Selke Trophy, awarded to the league’s best defensive forward. Despite his stint with the Avalanche being short, Murray won a Stanley Cup alongside Patrick Roy in 1996.

Immediately following his retirement, Murray transitioned to an analyst position, working in the studio for Blackhawks TV starting in 1998. At the start of the 2006-07 season, Murray teamed up with John Wiedeman and have called three Stanley Cup championships in their time on air together.

Murray and Wiedeman have won the Chicago Market “Best Radio Play- By-Play” four times at the Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Awards.

“Troy Murray has the full support of the Chicago Blackhawks organization as he begins his treatments,” said Danny Wirtz, CEO of the Blackhawks. “He was a tough player on the ice and is as passionate as they come in the broadcast booth. We know he will fight cancer with the same vigor that has endeared himself to so many.”

USA TODAY LOADED: 08.10.2021