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Sport-Scan Daily Brief

Sport-Scan Daily Brief

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 8/4/2021 Canadiens 1191240 ‘You could see it coming’: Behind the rise of Ducks 1191266 How Canadiens draftee William Trudeau went from second-round pick Olen Zellweger throwaway QMJHL trade piece to NHL prospect 1191241 Arizona Coyotes sign center Travis Boyd to 1-year 1191267 Isles name Rick Kowalsky an assistant coach for contract Bridgeport affiliate 1191242 Arizona Coyotes sign 3 skaters on 2-way deals 1191268 What are the Islanders doing? Clues about the Isles’ defense options, forward logjam and more Bruins 1191269 Q&A: ESPN analyst Rick DiPietro on NHL buyouts, 1191243 Maine’s J.D. Greenway, Cornell’s Travis Mitchell among Simone Biles, and the story behind his Twitter handle the long shots at Bruins camp 1191244 BHN Puck Links: Are Bruins Out Of Trade Sweepstakes? 1191270 Former Rangers coach joins ESPN as 1191245 Is there a center in the house? After David Krejci’s exit, studio analyst Bruins pursue next generation options 1191271 Rangers hire John Lilley to fill personnel and scouting positions 1191272 Have the additions of Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais and 1191246 Goalie Michael Houser returning to Sabres organization Ryan Reaves made the Rangers better? Or worse? on AHL contract 1191247 Ex-Sabre joining ' staff as assistant coach 1191273 Senators’ Michael Del Zotto on D.J. Smith, being a DJ 1191248 'Fueled' by longer wait, Williamsville's Chase Clark drafted himself and playing with Artem Zub by Flames 1191274 How the rebuilt Flyers might look after their flurry of 1191249 MacLeod becomes bench boss for Dinos women's hockey summer moves | On the Fly squad 1191275 Carson Wentz, Ben Simmons, Mickey Moniak, more: This is Philly’s era of missed opportunity 1191250 Blackhawks expect new signing Jujhar Khaira to provide needed physicality 1191276 Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph hopes others will 1191251 Bowman explains process of acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury follow him 1191277 PPG Paints Arena recommends masks, starting with tonight's James Taylor concert 1191252 Avalanche offseason depth chart 3.0: What the lineup 1191278 Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Radim looks like with the Ryan , Darren Helm additions Zohorna 1191253 Former Avalanche reveals intense details about what it’s 1191279 First Call: Steelers have '1% chance' to win Super Bowl; like being teammates with Nathan MacKinnon Chase Claypool's bold prediction; Fleury's nudge to j 1191280 Mike Sullivan on coaching Team USA, facing Sidney Crosby and , belief in Penguins goalies and 1191254 Joseph Cecconi signs one-year, two-way contract with rev Dallas Stars 1191281 Will the Penguins still explore upgrades in ? Brian Burke says ‘maybe,’ with one key caveat Red Wings 1191282 Penguins re-sign Radim Zohorna to two-year deal 1191255 out as WMU hockey coach; former Detroit 1191283 Penguins, P.O. Joseph Extend Opportunity to Black Red Wings assistant hired Players with O’Ree Academy 1191256 WMU hockey shakeup: Andy Murray leaves after 10 1191284 Penguins Re-Sign Zohorna to 2-Year Deal; 2nd Year is seasons; ex-Wings assistant takes over NHL Only 1191257 Red Wings’ Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne file for salary 1191285 5 Penguins One-Timers: Pettersson Trade Chatter, arbitration Islanders Deception 1191258 Red Wings’ Tyler Bertuzzi ‘back to normal life’ after injury-plagued season 1191286 The Sharks could sever ties with Evander Kane. Here’s how. 1191259 Panthers’ forward ‘eager to get back’ to 1191287 Column: NHL quickly responds to Kane betting allegations Florida 1191288 Report: Teammates don't want Kane back; Sharks tried for trade Kings 1191289 Sharks updated depth chart: Evander Kane will leave a 1191260 As he moves on from the Kings, Mike O’Connell reflects void on the ice if he’s not back back fondly on his 15 years with the organization 1191290 REPORT: “Several” Kane Teammates Don’t Want Him 1191261 Reign ink three on AHL contracts Back on Sharks Seattle Kraken 1191262 Wild coach on loss of Zach Parise and Ryan 1191291 ‘I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle’: Kraken Suter: 'We are going forward' rumors got attention of Carey and Angela Price 1191263 Wild coaches already contemplating lineups, even though roster still has holes St Louis Blues 1191264 Wild coach Dean Evason already tinkering with a potential 1191292 Gordo: Tougher Central Division creates huge challenge lineup for Blues 1191265 Wild’s Dean Evason on dramatic roster changes, Boldy 1191293 Blues, Kyrou agree on two-year contract and Rossi making team; plus Fiala’s rare arbitration 1191294 Yanni Gourde excited for chance in Seattle even with start delayed 1191295 Ross Colton’s contract? Ondrej Palat’s future? Lineup projections? Lightning mailbag Maple Leafs 1191296 Leafs head of amateur scouting joins NY Rangers 1191297 Maple Leafs depth chart 2.0: Roster takes shape with Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase and David Kampf additions Canucks 1191298 Canucks make changes to business-side leadership 1191299 Ex-Canuck Antoine Roussel heads to Arizona with his head held high 1191300 Canucks offseason depth chart: New-look defence, high-end top-9 and where Vancouver stands after free agency Websites 1191301 The Athletic / Q&A: ESPN analyst Rick DiPietro on NHL buyouts, Simone Biles, and the story behind his Twitter 1191302 The Athletic / Down Goes Brown prediction contest results: Did anyone have a perfect entry? Would that be enou 1191303 .ca / NHL’s Top 10 UFAs remaining: Latest rumours, reports 1191304 TSN.CA / Canadian forward Daoust has learned to lean on her teammates SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1191240 Anaheim Ducks So it wasn’t until his brief pandemic season where he finally made a name for himself as one of Canada’s best prospects, ratcheting off 13 points in 11 WHL games as a 17-year-old and then eight in seven games ‘You could see it coming’: Behind the rise of Ducks second-round pick en route to a gold medal with Canada at the under-18 worlds (where he Olen Zellweger led all of the tournament’s defencemen in scoring).

Those who know him always knew he’d catch up to his star peers, though. They knew that there was something bigger and better around By Scott Wheeler the corner for him than for most others in his position.

Aug 3, 2021 Butt, who runs Premier Strength, a prominent gym for NHL players and prospects in the area, has seen Zellweger progress piece by

piece. Zellweger has always been in Butt’s gym asking the right CALGARY — To the world, Olen Zellweger’s year rise from C-rated questions, knowing exactly what he needs to do to get better and prospect by NHL Central Scouting to second-round pick of the Anaheim following through on his goal-setting. Ducks comes as a bit of a surprise. So when he had the draft year that he did, Butt wasn’t surprised. He’d The rating graded him as a late-round selection likely to be picked in watched him take full advantage of the COVID-lengthened summer that Rounds 5-7 of the 2021 NHL Draft. And on top of that, not only was led into it, dedicating himself to using the added time as an asset in his Zellweger one of the youngest players taken in the draft, born less than a development rather than a waste. week removed from eligibility for the 2022 class, but at 5-foot-10 and 175 “I tell people this all the time: He could do my job. That’s how mature he pounds, he was also one of its smallest defencemen. is and how much of a student of not just hockey but of training he is. He But to those on the inside — to his skating coach, his skills coach, his just wants to learn all the time. Some guys show up to work out and he strength coach and his WHL head coach and — shows up to train. He’s there for a purpose and that’s just who he is,” Butt Zellweger’s draft year emergence was more a matter of when not if. said. “He’s incredible. He puts in the work and he’s getting paid off for it. It was awesome to see. He’s a fun kid to be around. He’s very mature. They’ve always seen it. And he’s really supportive of everyone else in the gym too. He’s not selfish. Yeah, he wants to get better but at the same time he wants “You could always see how dynamic he was,” said Northern Alberta everyone else to succeed too.” Xtreme Hockey Academy’s Tyrel Spitzer, Zellweger’s skills coach. Williams said that if you survey Zellweger’s Everett teammates for the “You could see it coming because he works so hard at it,” said Barry hardest working Silvertips player, he’ll be the most common answer from Butt, who has trained Zellweger since he was 12. the 16-year-old rookies and the 19- and 20-year-old veterans. “You could see that he was on a mission right from the start when he When Zellweger showed up to Everett for the 2020-21 season, he was arrived in Everett,” said Everett Silvertips head coach and general the player Williams saw the biggest change in, describing the manager Dennis Williams. transformation as “night and day.” Last week, the Ducks joined that chorus of believers when they bet on “It was infectious to our guys because they all saw right away how he Zellweger with the second pick of the second round. This week, his had changed from his first year to this year and how much time he had come-up brought him to the Tsuut’ina Nation at the edge of Calgary for put into it. You could just tell that he was out there to prove that he was a ’s summer showcase, where he began his pursuit of top not only in Everett and the WHL, but as he prepared for Canada’s world juniors roster as its third-youngest camp invitee. the draft,” Williams said. Spitzer and Britney Millar don’t skate Zellweger together, but they tell the While others asked for three-on-three scrimmages, small-area games same stories of their hours spent on the ice with him. and flow drills, Zellweger asked Williams in training camp when they Spitzer, who coached against Zellweger growing up, now runs skills were going to do battle drills because that was an area that he wanted to sessions and four-on-four games for Zellweger and other Edmonton-area get more reps in. NHL prospects (from first-round picks Dylan Guenther and Sebastian And when he returned from the U18 worlds, it was Zellweger who was Cossa to future first-round pick Matthew Savoie) and pro players disappointed when he wasn’t allowed to play in the final two games of the (including Jake DeBrusk, Matt Benning and Mark Pysyk). Millar runs a season. power skating program twice a week that trains many of the same players and has worked with Zellweger in small group sessions for each “His compete is next to none,” William said. of the last two summers. In that way, Zellweger reminds Williams, who is also in Calgary as an And at both of their skates, Zellweger’s the one they can’t get off the ice. assistant coach with Hockey Canada in advance of the world juniors, of another of his old Everett players: diminutive Flames goalie prospect “He’d play the game and then he’d ask me ‘hey, how much time is left in Dustin Wolf. your slot?’ and I’d say ‘Oh, there’s 12 minutes left but we’re getting off” and he’d say ‘Can you throw me a puck?’ and he’d stay out there for the “Being a smaller-sized defenceman, he has probably been told much like final 12 minutes skating around working on his and his stickhandling Wolfie that ‘You’re small,’ or ‘I don’t know if you can do it at that stage,’ or and then he’d skate around the dirty ice until the Zamboni got off the ice,” ‘I don’t know if he can do it the WHL,’ or ‘I don’t know if he can make Spitzer said on a recent phone call. Team Canada’ but just like Wolfie he just keeps proving people wrong that say that, and proving the people who have total belief in him right,” “He never wants to leave and he’s always on the ice. Like the Zamboni’s Williams said. “To me, it’s all his own commitment, his details and his going around and he’s still out there stickhandling,” Millar said on a perseverance to the game. He’s just a down-to-earth, determined, different phone call an hour later. “He’s always the last to leave and I love motivated young man. He wasn’t invited to under-17s back in the day. He seeing that. He’s phenomenal. He’s always smiling. It’s my favourite wasn’t even invited to the camp! And he made here on his own merit, thing. And the rink is definitely his happy place. You can always tell that earned his way to U18s, now has a chance to play at the world juniors he’s just in it while he’s there. and got drafted 34th overall.” Every one of his coaches has a similar kind of story, too. Spitzer said he’s never met a player who works at his game quite like Zellweger, who was also a second-round pick in the WHL Bantam Draft, Zellweger, describing the Ducks’ Sam Steel and top 2022 prospect was always a good prospect, the kind of player who was a tier below the Matthew Savoie as the closest. true best in Alberta. While he was hotly recruited into Alberta’s prep “You think you meet kids who are passionate about the game and then school programs out of minor hockey, he wasn’t invited to Hockey you meet him and you’re like ‘No, this kid is passionate,’” Spitzer said. Canada’s under-17 camp when it was his turn. And while he had a good first year on a veteran team in Everett, producing 12 points in 58 games All of that hard work has also helped Zellweger develop a combination of as a 16-year-old in 2019-20 before COVID-19 ended the WHL season fascinating tools on the ice, marked by his standout skating ability. early, it wasn’t a spectacular one. He describes himself as “an offensive defenceman who has really good From his hotel room in Calgary, Zellweger can’t quite wrap his head skating and mobility” that helps him on both sides of the puck, using his around the whirlwind he’s in the midst of. feet to play tight gaps through the neutral zone, take away space and then activate offensively. His skating, he said, will help him defend “A lot has happened in the last week, eh?” he said, chuckling to himself. against better players as he progresses, despite his size, because he There was the 7:30 a.m. wakeup call on the morning of Day 2 at the knows he can stick with them. draft, after having sat through Day 1 with family and friends at their place “I definitely think I have some natural ability with my skating. As I’ve in Bonnyville, Alta., where he grew up until moving a few years ago to gotten older, 15, 16, 17, you realize that you are a really good skater. Fort Saskatchewan to pursue his hockey dreams — and for his parents’ Now you work on that more and it turns into really, really good. That’s work (his dad, Grant, is an operations manager for Gibson Energy and kind of how it’s been for me,” he said, pointing to the work he’s done with his mom, Kathleen, works in the greenhouse emissions industry out of Millar to turn it into an “elite skill” for himself. Sherwood Park, a suburb of Edmonton).

Millar describes Zellweger as not only one of the best skaters she’s There was the Ducks selection, which he acknowledged he had a good worked with but one of the quickest learners when it comes to adding feeling about after their multiple conversations. new skills. There was the blur of interviews, the rush of congratulating text “He’s a phenomenal skater,” she said, laughing as if that’s an messages and then the quick turnaround into his flight to Calgary for understatement. “He’s super explosive, super shifty, his weight transfer is Canada’s camp that followed. unreal and he’s really good on his edges. He’s got really good control of And now there’s the season ahead in Everett, which he promises will be the body and he’s very kinesthetic so in anything that we’re doing, he another big one, to prepare for. always has to feel through everything. That’s how he really learns. And he adapts and picks up skating skills like nothing. He does it a couple of “I’m really excited to play a full season. Everett next year will have times and he’s good to go.” another great team. I think I’ll be able to have a lot more opportunity, especially with my season last year,” he said. Those tools are evident in the workouts Butt runs his clients through off the ice, too. He sees it in Zellweger’s 20- and 30-metre sprint times, and When he looks back on his journey to this , he credits the people in the agility drills they do. who’ve helped him along the way, beginning with his parents, who brought him to a rink when he was five days old because his older “He’s really fast. Like his footspeed is really impressive and he puts a lot brothers were playing. of force into the ground. And then he is also unbelievably quick-cutting and changing directions. Like unbelievably fast,” Butt said. Williams credits Grant and Kathleen, too.

Spitzer argues that what makes Zellweger such a beautiful skater isn’t “They’re an unbelievable family. When Zell came to us, I remember his just about his technique, though. It’s also about the complement of other dad telling us that if his grades slipped, he wasn’t going to play. It wasn’t skills that allow him to use his skating in practical ways. A lot of the work ‘hey, you’ve got to go be a hockey player.’ It was ‘education’s a must.’ Spitzer puts his clients through is about building deception into their They’ve held him accountable to himself. They’ve never once pushed me games and nobody’s more deceptive than Zellweger. from a coaching standpoint. And I said to my wife on the weekend when he got picked, ‘(Kathleen) was crying dropping him off two years ago and “He’s so clever with the puck that his last resort is to get it below the goal she’s probably crying on draft day.’ And you see it in Olen. He’s just a line. He’s always got a way to put it on the stick of someone who is going really cerebral guy. He’s a thinker. When you ask him a question, he to have a better scoring opportunity. He’s able to manipulate defenders doesn’t rush to the answer. He thinks about it and analyzes it first. He’s and open up space for his offence. He’ll trick you and go the other way. intelligent,” Williams said. And he’s very, very good at trusting himself to make plays into open areas when he’s breaking up the ice or he sees a forward sliding out of When he’s asked about the under-17s snub, Zellweger talks about it as the corner. His target is almost never where he needs to be but he’ll motivation. He credits Blue Jackets prospect Jake Christiansen and throw a puck into the space where he’s going to be,” Spitzer said. “Even Flyers prospect Wyatte Wylie for their leadership in his first year in defending, he just skates the ice so well that the forwards find him a lot to Everett. handle. But he’s also proud of himself. A year ago, he wasn’t thinking about the Williams has seen that all come together firsthand with Everett. He raves world juniors. Now he is. about everything from Zellweger’s hockey IQ to his constant shoulder He did this. He made it this far. checks, his use of deception, the way he retrieves pucks, his net-front box-outs and his fearlessness. Even though he was still one of the “It was just sticking to my training and being consistent. I believed I could younger players on the Silvertips last year and wasn’t one of its captains, be here,” he said. “I believe in myself and believe that I can fit in and Williams also said that Zellweger was a big part of the team’s leadership make an impact.” group.

“A lot of it comes back to his skating but it’s not all about his skating,” Williams said. “His compete is really strong, too. In practice, there’s The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 nobody who hates losing more than Zell. He’s your competitor, ultimate guy that when you’re teaching something he’s attentive, he’s listening and then he wants to go do it.”

But nobody will go as far as to say they’re surprised by Zellweger and just how far he has come.

Spitzer believes stereotypes about his size are the only thing that has — or could — potentially hold him back.

“Him being a slighter defenceman, there’s still this preconception and this whole frigging dynamic about size. I can’t say I’m surprised because he’s the type of kid you cheer for. It’s hard not to want him to have success because he’s such a good kid. I don’t think it came out of nowhere,” Spitzer said.

“He’s slight for his size but he’s so tenacious that he’s still a lot to handle when you’re trying to defend him because he’s using his edge work and his cutbacks. He’s able to drive you back with his speed and then pull back with his lateral movements to really open up space. And because of how smart he is, he’s able to be really crafty with a lot of his plays.” 1191241 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes sign center Travis Boyd to 1-year contract

BY ARIZONA SPORTS

AUGUST 3, 2021 AT 4:16 PM

The Arizona Coyotes have signed center Travis Boyd to a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.

“We are pleased to have Travis join the Coyotes,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said in a press release. “He is a versatile, two- way center who can fill a lot of different roles for our club.”

Boyd, 27, spent last season with the before being waived and claimed by the .

In 39 games for those two teams, Boyd had five goals and five assists for 10 points. He spent the previous three seasons with the Washington Capitals, registering 31 points across 85 games.

The Coyotes have had a busy offseason, moving on from several players including Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta, along with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191242 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes sign 3 skaters on 2-way deals

BY SAM GRAVELINE

AUGUST 2, 2021 AT 3:25 PM

The Arizona Coyotes made a handful of signings on Monday, continuing a busy offseason of roster moves.

The team signed defensemen Cam Dineen and Dysin Mayo, along with forward Blake Speers, to one-year, two-way contracts, the team announced.

All three players were with the organization in 2020-21, playing in the AHL for the .

Dineen, 23, has played in 136 career games for the Roadrunners, tallying 11 goals and 25 assists.

Mayo, a right-handed defenseman, appeared in 35 games for Tucson in 2020-21, registering just four total points. He was originally drafted by the Coyotes No. 133 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

As for Speers, the 24-year-old only played four games for the Roadrunners in 2020-21, but he’s played in 151 career AHL games.

The Ontario native was selected No. 67 overall by the in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Per team policy, contract terms for all three players were not disclosed.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191243 Bruins scouts Brett Harkins and Scott Fitzgerald, noted Langenbrunner, would have been the ones to spot Mitchell, leading to the invite this week.

Maine’s J.D. Greenway, Cornell’s Travis Mitchell among the long shots at “We like to bring them in here and scratch under the surface a little bit,” Bruins camp he said, referring to college free agents such as Mitchell. “See what makes them tick. Get to know them a little bit. Sometimes in the college free agent thing, it’s a little bit of a recruiting thing at the end of the day. A Staff Report comfort levels helps at times.”

Updated August 3, 2021, 5:03 p.m. Mitchell’s skating, as is often the case with any prospect, has caught the coaching staff’s eye.

“Moves well for a big guy,” said Langenbrunner. “He’s 6-4 and change, J.D. Greenway came to the Bruins development camp Monday as an he’s moving well. And his improvement, his growth, his added strength, invitee, a project, though he carries the pedigree of being a Toronto third- he seems to be on an upward trend.” round draft pick (2016) who never came to contract terms. Old friends A 6-foot-5-inch left-shot defenseman, he is a year younger than his better-known brother, ex-Boston University Jordan Greenway, Jake Schmaltz and Lohrei were roommates the past season at USHL who recently wrapped up his third NHL season with the Minnesota Wild Green Bay, where Lohrei led the club in scoring (19-40—59) and his and will earn $2.6 million in the coming season. Jordan entered the roommate finished second (19-34—53). Not the first time the two league not as invitee, but as an honored guest after three solid years on Wisconsin lads have been teammates. As fourth graders, they played on Comm. Ave. the same elementary school football team, with QB Schmaltz sometimes connecting with Lohrei as his receiver. “He had pretty good hands,” said The Bruins hope the younger Greenway, 23, who played the last two Schmaltz. “He was a little smaller back then; he wasn’t always 6-3. He’s seasons for the University of Maine, can follow his brother’s footsteps to a good player. It’s awesome to see the player he is today, seeing him the show. here. And having a friend here is always nice, too, a lot of fun.” … “We see an athletic kid who has some molding to do as a player,” said Greenway, prior to the last two seasons at Maine, played two seasons at Jamie Langenbrunner, the Bruins’ director of player development. the University of Wisconsin, followed by a season with USHL Dubuque. ”There’s some raw skill to his game — his length, his skating ability. He The Greenway boys grew up in Canton, N.Y. has some work to do with his overall conditioning and whatnot, but we Center Curtis Hall, who turned pro last season with AHL Providence see some raw skill that can be molded into a player. when the Ivy League opted to shut down, has only one semester “We like the athletic ability and we’ll see where it goes.” remaining to complete his political science degree at Yale. “I’ll be doing that for summer classes,” said Hall, noting that he took two courses The towering Greenway is one of 12 invitees suited up at the camp, earlier this summer, on line, and is currently taking one course. “I’ll get it which will wrap up Friday at in Brighton. Unlike most done over the next couple of summers.” Once he has his degree in hand, invitees, he carries a bit of an asterisk, having recently signed an AHL Hall might have the opportunity to walk in graduate ceremonies in New contract with the Bruins that has set him up to start the season with Haven. “At this point,” he said, “it would be great to walk, and honestly I Providence. don’t know exactly when I’ll finish up school. I’m hoping I can do it next summer, but at this point, school is kind of being pushed to the side. I’m Invitees arrive at camp from disparate places and circumstances. None completing it over summers, but my hockey game is the most important of them has a remote chance of playing with Boston this season, or thing for me right now and for the future.” Drafted No. 119 in 2018 when perhaps ever, but they have been able to find their way onto this week’s he was 6-3/197, Hall has grown about an inch and added nearly 20 28-man roster, shouldered in among such high-end prospects as center pounds. Johnny Beecher (first-round pick in 2019) and defenseman Mason Lohrei, the club’s top pick in the 2020 draft.

In most cases, the Bruins contact invitees via their agents or family Boston Globe LOADED: 08.04.2021 advisers (code for agents who represent college players). But there are times when Langenbrunner will reach out directly to an unproven, unsuspecting kid and offer him a slot, what surely must seem like a gift from the hockey gods.

“You get a varying degree of responses,” noted Langenbrunner, whose son Mason, a 2020 Bruins draft pick, is here in camp. “It probably depends on how much love the kid’s been shown in the past, to be honest with you. I think it is fun for those kids who’ve been a little bit under the radar and the late developers that people talk about. They find their way here and they show well.”

A case in point this week has been Travis Mitchell, another towering left- shot blue liner who played his freshman season with Cornell in 2019-20. Prior to making his way to the Ithaca campus, Mitchell, 21, played three seasons in the USHL and then contributed a respectable 2-10—12 line in 29 games as a Big Red frosh. When the Ivy League shut down for 2020- 21 because of COVID-19, Mitchell was among the scores of US college kids forced off the ice for a full season.

“A late-developing kid,” mused Langenbrunner. “Wasn’t even able to play hockey last year at Cornell. Put on a lot of strength during that 18 months off and looks good out there right now. You get a wide range of that, and that’s part of the fun sometimes.”

Mitchell, from South Lyon, Mich., has filled out to just over 200 pounds. Never drafted, he is pegged to return to Cornell for his sophomore season, but nothing would preclude him from turning pro now with the Bruins if, say, they were impressed enough this week to offer him something that looked more appealing than a return to school. 1191244 Boston Bruins Former No. 2 overall pick Ryan Murray, who has long been a regular on the NHL trade rumor circuit, signed a bargain basement deal with the Colorado Avalanche. (Colorado Hockey Now)

BHN Puck Links: Are Bruins Out Of Jack Eichel Trade Sweepstakes? Are the Vancouver Canucks the deepest team up the middle in the Pacific Division? (Vancouver Hockey Now)

Published 17 hours ago on August 3, 2021 After Pittsburgh Penguins GM poached a few of the Philadelphia Flyers scouting and development staff, the Flyers have By Jimmy Murphy revamped their own staff. (Philadelphia Hockey Now)

NHL

Are the Boston Bruins out of the running in the Jack Eichel sweepstakes Is New York Islanders GM waiting to sign forwards Zach on the NHL trade market? Parise and Kyle Palmieri because he’s trying to pry St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko off the NHL trade market? (Spector’s Trade In his Yahoo column on Monday, Adam Gretz ranked the favorites to Rumors) acquire Eichel on the NHL trade market and had the Bruins as a wild card at best. The Chicago Blackhawks are pledging to release all information found in their investigation on the sexual abuse scandal. (TSN) “Eichel has already made it clear that he would like to someday play for his hometown team, and with David Krejci on his way back to the Czech Republic there is an obvious hole on their second line. Eichel would also eventually take the torch from as the new No. 1 center Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.04.2021 in the future. From a hockey standpoint it makes total sense. The problem: The Bruins do not have a ton of flexibility and they are badly lacking in young assets that Buffalo would want. It also seems impossible to think that the Pegula’s would allow Eichel to end up in their same division.”

Gretz is absolutely correct that the Bruins lack the cap space to take on the $10 million cap hit Eichel carries for the next five seasons. Despite having $28.4 million in cap space before NHL free agency kicked off last Wednesday, the Bruins now suddenly find themselves cap-strapped again with just $1.6 million in cap space remaining.

He’s also correct in stating that the Bruins just don’t have the young assets the Sabres are looking for on the NHL trade market. However, Eichel’s value on the NHL trade market likely took a dip this past weekend after Eichel’s agents called out Sabres GM for prolonging the inevitable Eichel trade. Remember, Eichel’s impending neck surgery and which one he has done is also a huge sticking point of contention that is diminishing his value on the NHL trade market.

What Gretz is incorrect on is that Adams won’t trade Eichel to an Atlantic Division team. While, Adams would love to send Eichel out west and only have the Sabres play him once or twice a season, that ship has sailed. Adams is in no position to be picky anymore needs to get the best possible return out there at this point. That return is not what it used to be either. So with that in mind:

If the Bruins were willing to part with young forward Zach Senyshyn, defenseman Jakub Zboril or fellow rearguard Urho Vaakanainen and a first round pick, would that pry Eichel away from the Sabres?

That may sound like a ton to the Bruins prospects junkies and at the same time not enough to the Sabres prospect gurus, but Eichel’s value on the NHL trade market is all over the place right now and the return will likely not be what one expected just a week ago.

Now onto the rest of your BHN Puck Links:

Boston Bruins prospect Johnny Beecher is hoping to sing a ‘Redemption Song’ for his junior season at the University of Michigan. (BHN)

Per Sheng Peng: The NHL trade chatter around San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier has gone south because of his hefty contract. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa (2021, 15th overall) is upholding his reputation as an elite trash-talker and already getting on Team Canada’s nerves for chirping in practice. (Detroit Hockey Now)

New Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brock McGinn met the Pittsburgh media for the first time and let it be known that he believes he has more offense to give. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Sammi Silber believes Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson could have a much different impact next season. (Washington Hockey Now)

Per Sportsnet NHL Insider, the New YIslanders are believed to have a deal done with Casey Czikas, too. (NYI Hockey Now) 1191245 Boston Bruins to do those pro habits. We’ll continue to work with him. It’s going to take a little bit of time. Good on Johnny and how he’s bought into that.”

Langenbrunner classified some of the other campers as multi-position Is there a center in the house? After David Krejci’s exit, Bruins pursue forwards. In that way, the youngsters mimic some of the veterans whose next generation options hands are raised for Krejci’s shifts in camp: Charlie Coyle, Nick Foligno and Erik Haula. Jack Studnicka and , natural centers who played wing last year, will also be in the mix in the middle. Studnicka was By Fluto Shinzawa among a crew of local NHLers — Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Chris Wagner, ex-Bruin Torey Krug, Jack Eichel and Kevin Hayes were others Aug 3, 2021 — that hit the ice following the wannabes.

There are other ways to chase the besides a 1-2 center If things had gone well, Ryan Donato, a 25-year-old left winger who has punch. You could argue that Montreal advanced to the final without one played center, would be firing pucks from the middle for the Bruins in high-end pivot, let alone two. 2021-22. It may be, then, that the Bruins’ most immediate remedy is a cohort of all- If things had gone really well, 24-year-old Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson purpose forwards behind Bergeron. They have no other choice. would be right there as well, distributing the pucks that Donato had not let Center was an organizational position of strength for more than a fly. decade. It is no longer that. Instead, Donato, the Bruins’ 2014 second-round pick, is seeking NHL employment after not receiving a qualifying offer from San Jose. Forsbacka Karlsson is out of the league entirely. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 The Bruins, meanwhile, search for alternatives following David Krejci’s decision to play in the Czech Republic. At the same time, they are just a year away from Patrice Bergeron’s contract expiration.

The Bruins knew all of this was pending. It doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

On Monday at Warrior Ice Arena, the Bruins welcomed 28 players to their development camp. When Bergeron (2003 draft) and Krejci (2004) were selected in their respective years, the organization had yet to introduce its annual summer prep course. Bergeron and Krejci were left on their own to prepare for their first NHL training camps.

Both second-rounders were talented enough to make it just fine.

This time around, it remains to be seen whether a future Krejci or Bergeron is nestled among the wide-eyed campers, waiting for NHL pressure to harden into a gemstone. The closest, at least by draft pedigree, is 2019 first-rounder John Beecher.

The 20-year-old left-shot pivot stands 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds and motors like he was born on skates. Just that, of course, guarantees nothing except admiring glances from an ex-NHLer like Jamie Langenbrunner, for whom size and skating were anything but guaranteed.

“We were laughing about it up there, Kimmer and I,” said Langenbrunner (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) of watching Beecher alongside skills coach Kim Brandvold. “It almost looks like he’s not skating at times. But when you’re standing there, he’s actually going really, really fast. Because it’s so effortless.”

Beecher wore a non-contact jersey on Monday. He is five-plus months removed from shoulder surgery that ended his sophomore season at Michigan after just 16 games. He expects to be at full health for his junior year.

The injury first occurred last August. During an on-ice session, Beecher’s arm got tangled up with a teammate.

“He pulled one way. I pulled the other,” said Beecher. “My shoulder just subluxed, which is just kind of a freak accident.”

Beecher tried to play through the injury. But his condition worsened to the point where he was at risk of additional damage. Beecher ended his year with four goals, four assists and not many answers as to what he might become as a professional.

His skating is NHL quality. It remains to be seen whether he can develop the hands, hockey sense and creativity usually required of a top-two center. Bergeron and Krejci have these qualities in abundance. Time will determine whether Beecher veers more toward becoming a defensive- minded No. 3 center.

“For him, whether he’s going to up as a second-line guy or a third-line guy or a fourth-line guy will depend on how quickly he gets those details in, how his consistency is there night in and night out, that’s going to make a coach happy and give him his opportunity,” said Langenbrunner. “His skating and his size are always going to be there. He’s learning how 1191246 Buffalo Sabres

Goalie Michael Houser returning to Sabres organization on AHL contract

Lance Lysowski

Aug 3, 2021 Updated 16 hrs ago

Michael Houser is returning to the Buffalo Sabres organization following an unprecedented with the club last season.

Houser, a 28-year-old , signed one-year, contract with the Sabres and Rochester Americans, sources told The Buffalo News. It's likely Houser will begin the year with the , who opted to not participate in the 2020-21 ECHL season.

Houser is an important depth addition for the Sabres, who lost Linus Ullmark to the Boston Bruins on the first day of free agency. While Houser won't be part of the four-man competition in training camp, he's a reliable replacement for Rochester, or even Buffalo, if injuries deplete depth at the position.

Houser's remarkable run with the Sabres was one of the few feel-good- stories of a last-place finish for Buffalo last season. Following 283 games in the AHL and ECHL, Houser finally received his NHL opportunity when he made his Sabres debut on May 3, stopping 34 of 36 shots in a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders. He delivered another win the following night, delivering 45 wins for a Sabres team that didn't have Jack Eichel.

Playing in his first game at any level since March 7, 2020, Houser stopped all 15 shots he faced in the third period, standing tall to help the Sabres rally from a two-goal deficit to defeat the New York Islanders 4-2.

Across four games, Houser logged a .901 save percentage and narrowly lost the season finale in his hometown, Pittsburgh, making 22 saves in a 1-0 loss to the Penguins.

When Ullmark signed with Boston, the Sabres added veteran goalies Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell on one-year contract. The latter is a two- way deal, meaning Dell will not have to pass through waivers if assigned to Rochester. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Dustin Tokarski will also compete for the starting job.

Buffalo News LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191247 Buffalo Sabres joined the Capitals for a role that made it clear to him that it was time for a full-time job in pro hockey.

“The Washington thing came up as more of – I was going to go there as Ex-Sabre Michael Peca joining Rochester Americans' staff as assistant more of an internship kind of mindset where I wasn’t looking to get paid, I coach was just looking to learn and stuff,” said Peca. “They decided to compensate me, which is great. But, you know, I know I was ready for this endeavor and the year in Washington has really opened my eyes to Lance Lysowski how much I love coaching, how much I love every aspect that comes with coaching and development. It’s going to be a great fit.” Aug 3, 2021 Updated 13 hrs ago

Buffalo News LOADED: 08.04.2021 Michael Peca, beloved by hockey fans in Buffalo for his heroics during five seasons with the Sabres from 1995-2000, will play a part in General Manager Kevyn Adams' plan to revive the struggling franchise.

Peca, 47, is joining the Rochester Americans' coaching staff as an assistant to coach Seth Appert. The vacancy occurred when Adam Mair became director of player development after one season in a full-time coaching role.

Peca, who totaled 176 goals and 465 points in 864 games across 14 years in the NHL, spent last season as a development coach with the Washington Capitals. He intended to join the Capitals as an unpaid intern, but he was hired in a full-time capacity to work with the club’s taxi- squad players. Peca also ran optional practices and studied game video, particularly to pre-scout the tendencies of opposing centers in the faceoff circle.

This is a different opportunity for Peca. He’ll work closely with Appert to develop the Amerks’ young forwards, a group that could include recent draft choices Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Lukas Rousek, Linus Weissbach and Matej Pekar. The wave of prospects will be counted on to eventually supplement Buffalo’s young core of Rasmus Dahlin, and Casey Mittelstadt, among others.

“That’s exciting to be a part of the solution,” Peca said during a video conference call Tuesday. “When I look back at my playing career, one of the things I was most proud of was when I got traded from Buffalo to the New York Islanders, they hadn’t made the playoffs in eight years. Nobody was really giving us a chance, and a lot of people were like, ‘Are you upset with that?’ And they thought I’d be upset with going there, which I wasn’t because I relish the opportunity to make a difference for the organization.

"Coaching is really not much different in that respect. You’re not on the ice doing it at game time, but you can certainly have an impact as a coaching staff on the players. So, I’m just really looking forward to it. I wish it was September already so we can get going.”

Peca’s return comes at a time when Adams is trying to rebuild the culture in Buffalo, prioritizing players who want to be here and understand the history of a club that Peca captained to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. Peca is part of a coaching staff that includes former Sabres defenseman Mike Weber, who played for the organization from 2007-16.

In Peca, the Sabres and Amerks are adding someone who understands the work ethic and attention to detail needed to thrive in the NHL. A second-round draft choice in 1992, Peca was acquired by the Sabres in a 1995 trade that sent to the Vancouver Canucks.

Peca won the Selke Trophy for the NHL's best defensive forward during his second season in Buffalo. He was a finalist for the award in three consecutive years and logged three 20-goal seasons, including a career- high 27 in 1998-99. Peca was a key playoff performer for the Sabres in the late 1990s, totaling 13 points in 21 games during the club's run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. He served as Buffalo's team from 1997-2000.

Peca's time in Buffalo ended when he and the organization could not come to terms on a contract, and he sat out the 2000-01 season. On June 21, 2001, Peca was traded to the Islanders in exchange for and . Peca helped the Islanders reach the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, but he tore his MCL and ACL on a hip check during their first-round series.

Peca retired from the NHL on Jan. 19, 2010, and he's been heavily involved with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres over the past decade. He had extensive conversations with Appert last summer, the context of which neither elaborated on during the conference call Tuesday, but Peca 1191248 Buffalo Sabres their body, but he’s already fast and quick. That’s huge. And he’s just kind of started on this path, so he’s only going to get better.”

Last season, Clark had a .935 save percentage, 1.95 goals-against 'Fueled' by longer wait, Williamsville's Chase Clark drafted by average and three during 22 games with Jersey. He played his Washington Capitals best hockey in the postseason, stopping 49 of 51 shots to lead the Hitmen to the USPHL NCDC Dineen Cup Championship.

Lance Lysowski Williamsville's Chase Clark will play for the USHL's Tri-City Storm next season. Aug 3, 2021 Updated 17 hrs ago Clark then joined the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, where he appeared in three games before the conclusion of the regular season. More importantly, Clark made significant progress in developing a plan on and off the ice, Chase Clark wasn’t going to sit in front of a television and monitor each including a pregame routine and approach to nutrition. He explained that pick on Day 2 of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. this led to more consistency in the crease last season. The 19-year-old from Williamsville was ranked by NHL Central Scouting Even a concussion in training camp, the result of a shot off the helmet as the No. 23 North American goalie in the draft class, but he wasn’t during a routine breakaway drill, did not deter Clark. certain if his name would be called by one of the league’s 32 teams. Rather than making July 24 a painstaking afternoon inside his family’s “Yeah, it was definitely rough,” Clark said. “Definitely getting agitated and home, Clark chose to take a bike ride. stuff, but you know, just kind of realized it's a long road. This isn't good, but it's all about how you bounce back. I'm a strong believer in that. So, I Buffalo Jr. Sabres alum Chase Clark of Williamsville drafted by knew I was going to find a way to make it.” Washington Capitals Clark credited his parents, Keri and Doug, for teaching him the value of Clark, a goalie, finished the regular season with an 18-2-1 record, three hard work, a trait he’s had since an early age. When Clark joined the shutouts, a 1.92 goals against average and a .935 save percentage to Hitmen, he embraced the team’s professional-like routine, including a help lead the Jersey Hitmen to the United States Premier Hockey League pair of three-hour practices on weekdays with games on the weekend. (USPHL) championship. Janosz recalled that Clark wanted to be around the rink so much at an It’s not in his nature to sit idle. When the 90-minute outdoor excursion early age that he wouldn’t go home after his age group’s on-ice session was complete, and Clark arrived at home to watch the final rounds of the was done at a goalie camp. Clark would return in forward equipment and draft with his mother, Keri, a glance at the league’s broadcast delivered help younger goalies hone their craft. the news. "To get to the next level, you have to love the game," Janosz said. "You Clark, a 6-foot-6, 202-pound goaltender and alumnus of the Buffalo Jr. can't just like it. He's always loved hockey and being at the rink." Sabres, was drafted in the sixth round, No. 183 overall, by the Washington Capitals. Clark is expected to play for the Tri-City Storm next season, but in the meantime, he’s training at LECOM Harborcenter and working out at “It’s a dream come true,” Clark said during a recent phone interview with goalie camps with Janosz. The news on draft day was only the latest The Buffalo News. step in his goal to reach the NHL. It wasn’t long ago that Clark was unsure where he would play last “I wake up every day and I have one thing on my mind: hockey,” Clark season. A concussion suffered during camp with the United States said. “For that to happen, I'm just speechless. I just can't believe it Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers cost Clark a roster spot and forced happened.” him to find a new team. This led Clark to join the Jersey Hitmen of the National Collegiate Development Conference, where he proved to NHL Retired Sabres forward Daniel Paille was promoted to a full-time scouts that he had the talent to be considered a future pro. coaching role with ’s hockey program Monday after working in a volunteer capacity with the Golden Griffins for the past two Fourteen goalies were drafted before the Capitals chose to use their sixth seasons. and final selection of the event on Clark, who did not have his name called during his first year of eligibility. Snubbed on draft day in October Paille, 37, played 11 seasons in the NHL, including six with the Sabres, 2020, Clark was determined to be selected by an NHL team. and retired from playing in 2018 after he suffered a concussion on a blindside hit while competing for his professional team, Brynas, in “That definitely fueled the fire for me,” Clark said of going undrafted last Sweden. A left wing drafted in the first round by Buffalo in 2002, Paille year. “I wanted to prove everybody wrong and that I should be there.” appeared in 582 regular-season games during his NHL career, totaling Chase Clark, a Buffalo Jr. Sabres alum who was drafted in the sixth 85 goals and 172 points. He helped the Bruins reach the 2013 Stanley round by the Washington Capitals, during a work out at the LECOM Cup Final, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. Harborcenter on Friday, July 30, 2021. In his first two seasons on the Canisius staff, Paille aided in the While Clark was an impressive prospect exiting his 2019-20 season with development of the team's forward group while assisting with the - the Jr. Sabres, he grew almost two inches last summer. Height is always kill unit. an advantage for a goaltending prospect, but Clark has a remarkable blend of size and athleticism. Buffalo News LOADED: 08.04.2021 Clark, though, needed to learn how to properly use his frame to take up space in the net. Sprawling stops aren’t necessary as often if a goaltender understands what technical approach works best for him or her.

Longtime goalie coach Bob Janosz worked with many taller athletes while on staff with the Rochester Americans from 2006-17, including former Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, whose development earned him a four-year, $20 million contract with the Boston Bruins. Clark, though, has tools that few possess.

“I give credit to Washington for making that pick; that’s a great pick,” Janosz said. “The league he played in was maybe underrated compared to major junior or the USHL. Chase showed he can be athletic. So, the next step is toning it down a little bit and playing with consistency. His fundamentals are great. He has great footwork for a 6-foot-6, 19-year- old. Sometimes, it takes guys longer because they’re still growing into 1191249 The Joan Snyder Program of Excellence in Women’s Hockey has supported the Dinos women’s hockey team since 2011, enhancing coaching excellence, elite competition and sport services and providing MacLeod becomes bench boss for Dinos women's hockey squad scholarships to student-athletes. The team returns to competition this fall, opening their season Oct. 15 in Winnipeg, followed by their first home game on Oct. 22 at Father David Bauer Arena.

Staff Report

POSTMEDIA NETWORK Calgary Sun: LOADED: 08.04.2021 Publishing date:Aug 03, 2021

Danielle Goyette left pretty big shoes to fill when she took her hockey game to the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

But Carla MacLeod, who was appointed Tuesday to fill the head coaching role left by Goyette with the University of Calgary Dinos, has pretty big feet herself in the puck world.

MacLeod will join the Dinos hockey team as the new bench boss effective next Monday, said U of C athletic director Ben Matchett.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Carla aboard to take the Dinos women’s hockey program forward,” Matchett said. “As a player, a coach and a leader, Carla has won at every level, and her track record of academic success and community involvement speaks for itself. She will be a tremendous asset to the women’s hockey program, the athletic department and the university.”

MacLeod joins the Dinos from Edge School, a private sports school for Grades 4-12 located just west of Calgary, where she has led the under- 18 female prep Team since 2014. A two-time Olympian and seven-year veteran of Canada’s national women’s team, MacLeod’s teams have excelled both academically and athletically during her time in charge of the Edge program. Student-athletes have recorded a team-academic average of 89% — 98% have pursued post-secondary degrees and 88% continued their hockey careers. In 2019-20, MacLeod’s Edge team captured its first female U18 Prep Division championship in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work with the University of Calgary and Dinos Athletics to continue to grow the women’s hockey program,” MacLeod said. “My experience at Edge School was incredible, and I look forward to this next challenge in helping the Dinos strive to achieve success on the ice, in the classroom and within our community.”

A native of Calgary, MacLeod patrolled the blue-line for four seasons with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, with whom she was a two-year captain and led the women’s hockey program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2005. During her final season with the Badgers, MacLeod, a two-time all-american, was named USCHO Defensive Player of the Year and a Big Ten Medal of Honor winner. In 2020, she was inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

MacLeod’s international playing career was highlighted by a pair of Olympic gold medals with Canada’s women’s hockey team at Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010, where she posted a stellar nine points in 10 contests across those Games. She also competed at four IIHF Women’s World Championships — winning gold in 2007 and earning MVP honours in 2009 — as well as five 4 Nations Cups, when she earned an additional three gold medals.

After retiring from the Canadian national team in 2010, MacLeod began her career behind the bench as an assistant coach with theh Mount Royal University Cougars. During her time at Mount Royal, the Cougars won the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship in 2012 and transitioned from the ACAC to Canada West.

MacLeod has served in several roles for Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Program since 2011. From 2012-14, she supported the Japanese Federation as it won the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship Division I, Group A, and qualified for the Sochi 2014 Olympics. MacLeod has also held numerous positions with Hockey Alberta, most recently leading the Team Alberta under-18 female team to a gold medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

MacLeod holds a Bachelor of Science in legal studies from the University of Wisconsin in 2006 and is an NCCP High Performance 1-certified coach. She will take over duties officially Aug. 9, when she will become the sixth coach in the program’s history. 1191250 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks expect new signing Jujhar Khaira to provide needed physicality

By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST

Aug 3, 2021, 4:18pm CDT

Employing Nikita Zadorov last season gave the Blackhawks one of the NHL’s most intimidating physical presences, but they weren’t that physical overall.

The Hawks finished 21st with 1,214 hits. Zadorov ranked seventh with 190, but the next-heaviest-hitting Hawk — Connor Murphy with 102 — ranked 66th. And the forward corps contributed little. Ryan Carpenter led that group with 78 hits, followed by Alex DeBrincat with 70.

The Hawks hope unheralded free-agent signing Jujhar Khaira changes that dynamic this season.

“There’s a lot of high talent and skill [on this team],” Khaira said last week. “I can bring a hard-nosed game out there. That’s going to be an asset, for sure.”

The 6-4, 212-pound Khaira, a native of British Columbia but only the third NHL player of Punjabi descent, proved more than willing to use that hefty frame the last four years with the Oilers.

He has been credited with 587 hits in 258 career games, and his rate keeps increasing. He racked up 151 in only 40 games last season, good for 14th in the league overall and eighth among forwards.

“[Khaira] brings another element of size and strength to our team,” general manager said Monday. “He has some versatility. He was used as a centerman and a winger. We like his approach to the game. He plays competitively. [He provides] an element we don’t have a lot of, so we’re trying to bring some of that in to blend with some of the highly skilled players up front.”

The Hawks were only able to sign Khaira because the Oilers didn’t give the soon-to-be 27-year-old a qualifying offer, letting him become unrestricted. That decision was part of an altogether strange offseason of contradictory decisions in Edmonton, although Khaira, who scored only three goals last season, wasn’t surprised by how it played out.

“It was one of those things that I thought there was a chance [the Oilers wouldn’t qualify me], but it was out of my control at that point,” he said. “That’s stuff that happens in this game.”

The value of physicality — especially physical players who don’t contribute much on offense — is up for debate in modern hockey. The Avalanche, Hurricanes and Maple Leafs in recent seasons have committed wholeheartedly to speed and skill and largely eschewed grinders.

But that’s an argument for another day. The Hawks clearly believe investing in size and physicality can help them.

And they followed that mentality in the draft, selecting four young prospects who exceed 6-4 and 200 pounds — including 6-7, 236-pound defenseman Taige Harding.

“You’re always looking to get size,” Hawks scouting director Mark Kelley said. “When we watch the league [and] how it’s going now, the big defenders are having a lot of success — or, I should say, the teams that have the big defenders are having a lot of success. . . . To answer your question, size was attractive to us.”

At the NHL level, Riley Stillman and Jake McCabe will compensate, hit- wise, for Zadorov’s departure among the defensemen. And Khaira and Mike Hardman, who had 38 hits in eight games late last season after signing out of Boston College, should fill that niche among the forwards.

“[The Hawks] seemed very interested,” Khaira said. “[And I just wanted the] opportunity.’’

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191251 Chicago Blackhawks "It’s a huge addition to our team," Bowman said. "We’re thrilled with what he brings to the table. It’s not too often that you get a chance to add the Vezina Trophy-winning goalie to our team in the offseason, but that’s the Bowman explains process of acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury situation we were in. I couldn’t be more excited to have him here with us in Chicago. In talking to him, he was really excited for the year to come."

BY CHARLIE ROUMELIOTIS Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.04.2021

When the Blackhawks were on the verge of acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury, reports quickly surfaced that the reigning Vezina Trophy winner might consider retiring after making it known he didn't want to uproot his family and leave Vegas. It became home for him and he expected to finish his NHL career with the Golden Knights.

Fleury's agent Allan Walsh confirmed those reports as the trade was going down when he tweeted: "Marc-Andre will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time."

Later on in the day, Fleury released a statement thanking the fans in Vegas and his teammates for a memorable last four years. There was no mention of his potential next chapter in Chicago.

The Blackhawks, however, were optimistic that Fleury would eventually come around and want to play for the team. And he did, announcing on Sunday in a video message to fans: "Hey Chicago, it's Marc. Just wanted to let you know: I'm in. Let's get to work."

Blackhawks President/GM Stan Bowman spoke to the media on Monday for the first time since the trade and addressed the whole situation.

"I can identify with that: He has young children, I have kids as well, and it’s a tough life to be a player," Bowman said. "It’s probably obvious it was a surprise to him when the trade went down. From my first conversation with him, it was very consistent. He said, 'Look, thanks so much for the call.' He just talked about how, 'I just need a little bit of time to get through these things. So if you can have a little patience, that'd be great.' And I said, 'Not a problem at all.'

"I put myself in his shoes. It’s hard when you have young children like that. I got a call the other day from him. [He was] really excited about coming here to visit Chicago, looking at where he could live. He’s been here a of times, obviously, but it’s different coming in as a player on a road trip versus where you’re going to actually be spending your time. Once we had that conversation, we were willing to give him the time to process through everything."

Bowman said he never felt nervous about whether or not Fleury would actually report to Chicago. He wanted to give the 36-year-old goaltender who has a wife and three kids as much time and space as he needed before making a final decision.

"I just looked at it more from a human being perspective," Bowman said. "I really understood what he was going through. I mean, you’re not expecting to be traded, and all of a sudden you get a phone call that says your life is changing and your family's life is changing. It’d be difficult for any of us to just jump right into this new world. You need a little time to let it breathe. So I put myself in his shoes and I totally understood it.

"From everything I knew about Marc-Andre, he loves to play the game of hockey. Just loves it. He loves to be on the ice. He loves to stay late after practice ends and continue to do extra work with the guys. Not everyone is the same way. Some players, as they get older, they want maybe less on-ice work and they want to conserve energy. But that’s not the feedback we got. He loves the game. He just came off the best season; he won the Vezina Trophy. We were comfortable when he was given the right time that he’d be excited to join our group."

Fleury has been in Chicago the last few days trying to get acclimated to his new team and city. He and Bowman spent an hour together on Monday at Fifth Third Arena, where Fleury put on a Blackhawks jersey for the first time and also met some of his teammates.

"It was great to spend some time speaking with him, showing him around, talking about our team," Bowman said. "A couple of our players were there and he got a chance to say hello to them. There were a lot of smiles going around."

Fleury's presence alone makes the Blackhawks an intriguing team to watch in the Central Division this upcoming season. 1191252 Colorado Avalanche The Toews-Makar pairing is one of the best in hockey. Toews had a great first year with the Avalanche, posting some of the best advanced metrics in the league and finishing 11th in Norris Trophy voting. Colorado Avalanche offseason depth chart 3.0: What the lineup looks like with the has to feel happy having him at $4.1 million AAV for the next three years. Ryan Murray, Darren Helm additions Girard will likely play as the second-pairing left side defenseman, though he’s also capable of playing on the right. The team also bolstered their defensive depth by signing Murray, who played with New Jersey last By Peter Baugh season. He was the No. 2 overall pick in 2012 and is composed on the ice and a good puck mover. All of that will fit with the Avalanche’s Aug 3, 2021 defense.

One of either MacDermid, Bowen Byram or Jacob MacDonald could also A flurry of free agency moves across the league left the Avalanche’s crack the lineup. Byram, the No. 4 pick in 2019, missed most of this past roster looking significantly different than it did when the 2021 season season with an upper-body injury. But he should have a chance to prove ended in June in Vegas. None of this should come as a shock. The team himself this year, especially after the Avalanche traded Graves and needed to pay defenseman Cale Makar and captain Gabriel Landeskog, Timmins this offseason. Middleton and Gilbert are depth options. making it impossible to keep the entire 2021 team together. The team has more left defensemen than right, so one will have to shift Colorado has worked to fill some of those departures, though, most to the right, where there should be a spot up for grabs behind Makar and recently by signing defenseman Ryan Murray to a one-year, $2 million . deal Monday, and general manager still has enough cap space Makar had a phenomenal second season, nearly winning the Norris to make another addition or two. With that in mind, here’s where the Trophy and, if Johnson is healthy, he’s more than capable of contributing depth chart stands: as a second-pairing blueliner. He played in only four games last season Landeskog returns as the Avalanche’s first-line winger, but Colorado is due to an upper-body injury, and Colorado could have used his size and still a little thin at the position. Some of the team’s centers could shift to toughness in the postseason. the wing (J.T. Compher, Alex Newhook, Mikhail Maltsev and Darren The Avalanche have a shortage of right shot defensemen, but one of the Helm are possibilities), but none of those players are, at this point in their left shot defensemen can slide over. The team also signed Jordan Gross, careers, top-six forwards. With Saad off to the Blues, the team looks like a depth defenseman from Arizona, to a two-way contract. And, looking it will downgrade at second-line left wing. ahead, prospect Justin Barron could be an option on the right side at Nichushkin, a forechecking master, has been consistently solid since some point during the season. joining the Avalanche. He’s not going to provide the team with excessive Vezina Trophy finalist Philipp Grubauer signing with Seattle left the scoring, but he’s a quality third-line player and could be an option on the Avalanche with a massive hole, but Sakic acted quickly, making a trade second line. He can also play right wing if someone like Newhook is with Arizona for Kuemper. Though Grubauer’s numbers were better than more comfortable on the left side. Kuemper’s in 2021, the new netminder should benefit from playing One of the centers capable of playing wing will likely take the fourth line behind a quality group of Avalanche defensemen. The Coyotes did not spot, but Colorado could also turn to Matteau, who has 91 games of NHL have that level of strength among their blueliners. Kuemper dealt with a experience and signed a two-way deal with the team. Ranta is another tweaked MCL last season and played in fewer than half the Coyotes’ option after making his NHL debut in the postseason, but his games the year before, so his ability to stay on the ice might determine if development might benefit from heavier minutes with the AHL Colorado the trade was a success. Eagles. Francouz didn’t play in a game in 2021 due to a lower-body injury. He’s MacKinnon is a great starting point for any team, and he’s obviously the set to return and, if he recaptures his 2019-2020 form, will make a strong team’s 1C. Opposing teams will have to continue to try and contain the tandem with Kuemper. Johansson will likely start the season in the AHL powerhouse line of Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen. with the Eagles, but he showed this past year that he’s capable of filling in. He had a .913 save percentage in eight games with Colorado in 2021. On the second line, Kadri remains the team’s best option, and the team will hope he puts together a strong season in a contract year. Jost, who Francouz will get a chunk of starts in goal if he’s healthy and in good recently signed a two-year contract as a restricted free agent, played form. MacDermid and MacDonald are also options to slot into the lineup. center a good bit in 2021. He has yet to emerge as a consistent NHL The Avalanche could still use a second-line left winger, but salary cap scorer, but he plays a solid two-way game and is a capable third liner. He limitations will make it hard for them to spend more than around $2 could also shift to the wing if needed. million unless they trade one of their roster players. The fourth line will have plenty of center options. Compher could take that spot, but the Avalanche would likely prefer to have a player with his $3.5 million cap hit playing middle-six minutes. Newhook, a developing The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 20-year-old, could also command more minutes and play higher in the lineup. He could also play with the Eagles if the Avalanche want him to get more consistent ice time.

Two of the team’s new additions — Helm and Maltsev — are probably the leading 4C candidates. Helm, a Stanley Cup champion and 14-year NHL veteran with Detroit, is a strong penalty killer who could help replace Bellemare. Maltsev, meanwhile, is still developing and came to the team in the Graves trade. The Avalanche think he’ll be ready to contribute sooner rather than later.

Rantanen will take first-line minutes at right wing and, at only 24, should continue producing at an elite level. Burakovsky will play behind him, and he’s given the Avalanche hot stretches throughout his two years with the team. His wrist shot is not fun for opponents to go up against.

As with left wing, a natural center could play on the right side. Newhook is an option, though he played left wing in the playoffs last year. O’Connor, who played college hockey at Denver, has also proven himself as worthy of a lineup spot. He doesn’t score much but is a hardworking forechecker likely best suited for the fourth line. Also of note: The Avalanche acquired big-bodied defenseman Kurtis MacDermid from Seattle, and Sakic said he will be an option at forward, too. 1191253 Colorado Avalanche see that he’s the best player in the NHL, and he still works to improve. It motivates them to work even harder.”

Social media seems torn on these damning details that have been Former Avalanche reveals intense details about what it’s like being revealed by the former Avalanche defenseman. Some say MacKinnon’s teammates with Nathan MacKinnon behavior is too much, while others commend the Avs star for his commitment to not only win, but to improve those around him.

Published 7 hours ago on August 3, 2021 Nathan MacKinnon is consummate pro. There’s no doubt that. This interview with former teammate Zadorov revealed what many likely By Scott MacDonald already suspected of MacKinnon: He wants to be the best, and he’s won’t stop until he—and his teammates—get there.

If you’ve seen The Last Dance docu-series, you know the kind of athlete and teammate Michael Jordan was behind closed doors. He was the Colorado hockey now LOADED: 08.04.2021 greatest to ever do it, and he demanded the best of his teammates.

Former Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov came out recently and revealed some pretty intense MJ-like details about his old teammate, Avs superstar Nathan MacKinnon.

“Nate is like MJ. I don’t want to make a direct comparison, but his way of thinking is very similar to MJ,” Zadorov said in a recent interview with a Russian publication. “He can be a jerk to his teammates. You need to accept that and it would improve you as a hockey player as a result.

“If you can’t accept it, well, you’re off the team.”

The comparison to Michael Jordan, who likely leads the way among the pantheon of all-time greats, isn’t necessarily a new one for MacKinnon. In fact, when The Last Dance made its debut last year, there were some on Avs Twitter who were quick to draw that comparison. And I can tell you, as a member of the media, and as someone who’s been behind the closed doors of the Avs dressing room, I can confirm—without revealing too much detail—that Nathan MacKinnon is a very intense, very passionate guy. And you could probably make that assumption yourself, too.

This is further highlighted by Zadorov, who reveals a bit more of what it’s like playing alongside MacKinnon.

“If you miss a pass in practice, he would skate over and literally scream at you,” he told the Russian reporter. “If the puck ends up in his skates— not even his skates—if it misses his stick by a tiny bit, like 15 centimeters in front of the blade of his stick, he doesn’t move his stick to catch the puck. He stops everything, turns around and slaps the puck back at you. He is not going to try and catch any puck he doesn’t like during practice—just to show you that you made a shitty pass.”

And it’s not just on the ice where MacKinnon demands the best. He’s like that off the ice, too, says Zadorov, who revealed that MacKinnon pays a dietician and a personal chef $50,000 and $100,000 a year, respectively, to make sure he’s keeping his body right. He also pays a “live-in doctor/physiotherapist” $1,000 each day, while also renting him out his very own apartment.

Zadorov says MacKinnon doesn’t indulge in libations either, and only drinks water. Two years ago, MacKinnon apparently got rid of all soda and desserts from the dressing room, and kiboshed “white sauce” and replaced regular pasta with chickpea pasta, because it’s higher in protein.

“He says, ‘Guys, if you want to eat that crap, you have the offseason for that. When you come here there will be none of that because we’re winning the Cup,” Zadorov says in the interview.

Michael Jordan wanted to win and he wanted to win bad. Nathan MacKinnon clearly wants to win, and he wants to win bad. MJ was the greatest player in the world and capital-D demanded his teammates play on his level. It’s clear MacKinnon demands a similar workload from his teammates. In that respect, maybe it is fair to loosely compare NM with MJ.

MacKinnon doesn’t want to be the best. He wants his team to be the best. This is something Zadorov wanted to make clear in this interview.

“He made pros out of the entire Colorado team,” Zadorov said. “That’s one of the reasons that Colorado got such an improvement in performance over the last couple of years.” Adding later, “He is a guy that demands everyone leaves everything out there, to maximize their abilities.

“He is always the hardest working guy. He comes out 30 minutes before practice, constantly working on his hands,” adds Zadorov. “Young guys 1191254 Dallas Stars

Joseph Cecconi signs one-year, two-way contract with Dallas Stars

By SportsDay Staff

11:26 AM on Aug 3, 2021 CDT

The Dallas Stars announced Tuesday defenseman Joseph Cecconi has been signed to a one-year, two-way contract.

Cecconi, 24, recorded eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 37 games during the 2020-21 season, Dallas’ top affiliate in the AHL. Among team defensemen, he finished the season ranked third in points and goals.

Prior his professional career, Cecconi appeared in 147 career NCAA games over four seasons at University of Michigan and registered 62 points (9 goals, 53 assists).

The 6-3, 210-pound native of Youngstown, N.Y. was selected by Dallas in the fifth round (No. 133 overall) of the 2015 NHL draft.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191255

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 08.04.2021

Andy Murray out as WMU hockey coach; former Detroit Red Wings assistant hired

Ryan Ford

Detroit Free Press

Western Michigan's hockey season is just over two months away, but the Broncos will have a new coach behind the bench for the first time in a decade.

Andy Murray and WMU announced Tuesday that Murray was stepping down as WMU’s coach after 10 seasons, a 167-156-43 record and two NCAA tournament appearances. WMU will promote assistant coach to the top spot.

Ferschweiler, 51, was an assistant under Murray in his most recent stint at WMU. Prior to that, the WMU alum was a Detroit Red Wings (2015-19) and (2014-15) assistant under former WMU coach , Murray’s predecessor who also hired Ferschweiler at WMU in 2010.

"I'm excited to be able to hand the reins of our Bronco Hockey team over to one of our own, Pat Ferschweiler," WMU athletics director Kathy Beauregard said in a statement Tuesday. "Pat showed his leadership qualities as a player for the Broncos, as an assistant coach and as our associate head coach.

"As a recruiter, Coach Ferschweiler has attracted some of the best talent ever to play at Western Michigan. I look forward to his new leadership role as the head coach of our hockey program with a goal of our team regular competing for championships while continuing to excel in the classroom."

The Broncos went 10-12-3 under Murray last season, capping their NCHC season with a 5-4 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the conference quarterfinals.

Murray’s 167 wins are the second-most in WMU history, behind Bill Wilkinson’s 313 from 1982-99. (Ferschweiler played for Wilkinson from 1990-93.) He was hired by WMU in 2011 after Blashill was hired to coach the Wings’ AHL affiliate. Under Murray, the Broncos made the NCAA tournament in 2012 and 2017. Before arriving in Kalamazoo, Murray, who turned 70 in March, was a head coach in the NHL with the and St. Louis Blues. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame as a builder in 2012 after coaching Team Canada to world golds in 1997, 2003 and 2007.

"The last 10 years at WMU have been as rewarding as anything I have done in my life,” Murray said in a statement Tuesday. “I am in great health and full of energy, so this is not a retirement. I still have a number of things on my bucket list and now is the time to pursue those.

"My goal has always been to have our program in great shape when I did decide to move on," Murray added. "We are in that position right now and the transition to Pat will be smooth and well-received by our present players and alumni. He is a Bronco and is well prepared.”

Ferschweiler has never been a head coach in college or the pros, but before arriving at WMU, he led the Russell Stover U18 team in the Midwest Elite Hockey League while building a youth hockey organization in Kansas City, Missouri.

"I am honored and humbled to be the next head coach of the Western Michigan hockey program," Ferschweiler said. "I want to thank (Western Michigan President Edward) Montgomery, athletics director Kathy Beauregard and deputy athletics director Jeff Stone for trusting me to lead this program."

The Broncos open the 2021-22 season with a pair of games against Ferris State on Oct. 8-9 and will play a home-and-home series against Michigan on Oct. 22 (in Ann Arbor) and Oct. 23. WMU is also scheduled to play in the 2021 against Michigan State (on Dec. 29) and Michigan (on Dec. 30). The first GLI since 2019 will take place on college campuses for the first time, rather than in Detroit, with WMU traveling to East Lansing and Ann Arbor. (Michigan Tech will come down from Houghton to serve as the fourth team in the GLI.) 1191256 Detroit Red Wings "Coach Murray has given everything he has to this program for the last 11 years and has left it in a better place. I would like to thank him for his friendship and leadership through our time together. I also wish him all WMU hockey shakeup: Andy Murray leaves after 10 seasons; ex-Wings the best in whatever challenge he takes on next. We have a tremendous assistant takes over group of players on this team and I'm very excited to get started as their head coach."

Ferschweiler, 51, played right wing for WMU from 1990-93. Tony Paul

The Detroit News Detroit News LOADED: 08.04.2021

Western Michigan has announced a shakeup with its hockey program, with longtime coach Andy Murray announcing his resignation Tuesday.

He will be replaced by WMU alum and former Red Wings assistant Pat Ferschweiler.

By all accounts, the WMU-Murray parting seems amicable. He was coach for 10 seasons, and is the second-winningest coach in program history, with 167 victories.

"The announcement that I am resigning and Pat Ferschweiler is moving into the role as head coach is one that I felt was necessary," Murray said in a statement. "The last 10 years at WMU have been as rewarding as anything I have done in my life. I am in great health and full of energy, so this is not a retirement. I still have a number of things on my bucket list and now is the time to pursue those.

"My goal has always been to have our program in great shape when I did decide to move on. We are in that position right now and the transition to Pat will be smooth and well-received by our present players and alumni. He is a Bronco and is well prepared.

"I have always considered my position at Western to be a privilege and responsibility and gave my best every day. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity I have enjoyed and look forward to being a Bronco in a different way. Go Broncos!"

Murray's tenure included three 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2012 Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament championship. He has sent nine Broncos to the NHL, and coached four All-Americans. He was named league coach of the year in 2017.

Ferschweiler has been associate head coach at WMU since 2019. He first joined the staff in 2010, when now-Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill was in charge.

Ferschweiler also was an assistant coach with the Grand Rapids Griffins and then the Red Wings, both under Blashill, before returning to WMU in 2019.

At WMU, Ferschweiler has been praised for his recruiting efforts.

"I'm excited to be able to hand the reins of our Bronco hockey team over to one of our own," Western Michigan AD Kathy Beauregard said in a statement. "Pat showed his leadership qualities as a player for the Broncos, as an assistant coach and as our associate head coach. He is a great teacher of the game and has coached at all levels under some outstanding mentors, including Andy Murray and Jeff Blashill.

"I look forward to his new leadership role as the head coach of our hockey program with a goal of our team regular competing for championships while continuing to excel in the classroom."

Beauregard didn't immediately return a message seeking comment from The News.

Western Michigan was 10-12-3 last season, but returns a lot of talent, including seniors Paul Washe, Ethen Frank and Josh Passolt, who are taking advantage of the extra year granted by the NCAA amid COVID-19. Ronnie Attard, league offensive defenseman of the year, returns for his junior season.

All three Western Michigan athletics programs now have had coaching changes in the last five years, with Tim Lester succeeding P.J. Fleck in football in January 2017, and Clayton Bates taking over for the fired Steve Hawkins in men's in March 2020.

"I am honored and humbled to be the next head coach of the Western Michigan hockey program," Ferschweiler said in a statement. " 1191257 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne file for salary arbitration

Updated Aug 01, 2021; Posted Aug 01, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Detroit Red Wings forwards Jakub Vrana and Adam Erne were among 17 players around the NHL who filed for salary arbitration by Sunday’s deadline.

Hearings will be scheduled between Aug. 11-26. In the meantime, they can continue negotiating with the club in hopes of avoiding what can be an unpleasant process.

Players who file for arbitration are precluded from receiving an offer sheet, which is rare anyway.

Because the player filed, the Red Wings will have the option of a one- or two-year deal, unless the sides agree to a longer term before the arbitrator reaches a decision.

Vrana, 25, is coming off a two-year contract valued at $3.35 million a season. He collected 19 goals and 36 points in 50 games, including eight goals and 11 points in 11 games with Detroit following a trade from Washington.

Erne, 26, is coming off a one-year contract at slightly less than $1 million. He experienced a breakout season with a career-high 11 goals and equaled his career-best total of 20 points in 45 games.

The Red Wings historically have avoided this process by reaching an agreement with the player prior to the hearing more often than not. Last year, however, Tyler Bertuzzi went to arbitration and was awarded a one- year contract for $3.5 million, nearly halfway between what the player and team asked.

Chase Pearson did not file for arbitration. The team’s two other restricted free agents, Filip Hronek and , were not eligible for arbitration based on service years.

Here is a list of the other 15 players who filed for arbitration: Zach Aston- Reese (Pittsburgh), Ross Colton (Tampa Bay), Andrew Copp (Winnipeg), Jason Dickinson (Vancouver), Vince Dunn (Seattle), Dante Fabbro (Nashville), Dennis Gilbert (Colorado), Adin Hill (San Jose), Michael McNiven (Montreal), Victor Mete (Ottawa), (Islanders), Neal Pionk (Winnipeg), Zach Sanford (St. Louis), Juuse Saros (Nashville), Nikita Zadorov (Calgary).

Michigan Live LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191258 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ Tyler Bertuzzi ‘back to normal life’ after injury-plagued season

Updated Jul 31, 2021; Posted Jul 31, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Three months after back surgery, Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is skating again, working out off the ice, feeling good and looking forward to being ready for the start of training camp in Traverse City.

“I never thought I’d say I’m excited for training camp, but I am,” Bertuzzi said Saturday, after signing a two-year extension valued at $4.75 million a season.

A promising start to the 2021 season (five goals and seven points in nine games) soon turned to pain and frustration due to back pain. After rest and rehab and multiple attempts to get back on the ice, Bertuzzi finally underwent the procedure on April 30.

“Last year was very tough physically, mentally, just being in pain every day,” Bertuzzi, 26, said.

“I was working out, skating, it would flare up on me again. I think surgery was the right play and I’m feeling really good right now. I’m very happy with how everything went and the decision we made. … Just back to normal life, doing everything, working out, skating.”

The rehab is going as planned with no setbacks. He has been skating with, among others, Dylan Larkin, who also is expected to be ready for the start of camp after suffering a late-season neck injury.

“I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, not try to push it, just slowly come back and get better and stronger in the gym,” he said. “I don’t want to be too aggressive with it.”

Bertuzzi also is happy to have a contract fairly soon, after going through arbitration last year, which is rare for this organization.

“It was relatively quick, there wasn’t much going back and forth,” Bertuzzi said. “Once there was a little bit of an even ground, it was easy to (agree).

“I think it works out good for both sides. Coming off a back injury, this gives me time to get back and prove myself and make sure everything is good and be as healthy as I can.”

Bertuzzi is excited about the club’s offseason additions, including center Pius Suter, a junior hockey teammate of his and Robby Fabbri’s at OHL Guelph from 2013 to 2015.

“It’s good to be playing with him again,” Bertuzzi said. “He had a great season last year his first year (in the NHL, with Chicago). He’s a centerman, too, so that adds a lot to the team.

“Some good players coming in. I talked to Larks and Fabbs yesterday. We’re all very excited for this year.”

Michigan Live LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191259 Florida Panthers

Panthers’ forward Carter Verhaeghe ‘eager to get back’ to Florida

By MALLORY SCHNELL

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

AUG 03, 2021 AT 4:09 PM

Carter Verhaeghe is feeling at home.

“I’ve bounced around to different teams,” said Verhaeghe, the Florida Panthers forward who was as re-signed to a three-year contract extension last week that begins in the 2022-23 season. “It’s been a long road to kind of get a little bit of security, but it finally paid off. It’s still kind of sinking in a little bit.”

Verhaeghe had one year remaining on his current contract.

“To be there for the next four years is definitely something special,” Verhaeghe said. “It’s nice to make South Florida my home.”

Verhaeghe, 23, was selected 82nd in the 2013 NHL draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He then spent time in the OHL, ECHL and AHL before playing one season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He produced 18 goals and 18 assists over 43 games in the 2020-21 season with the Panthers, after signing as a free agent in October.

“I’ve bounced around to different teams,” Verhaeghe said. “It’s been a long road to kind of get a little bit of security, but it finally paid off. It’s still kind of sinking in a little bit.”

In a first-round series against the Lightning in the , Verhaeghe recorded two goals and an assist.

“We can take a lot from the playoff series and learn a lot from [Tampa] especially,” Verhaeghe said. “Coming in next year, we will be a lot stronger and be a lot more experienced. I feel like they are an experienced team and they beat us. I think a lot of the reason is because of that. I think we kind of know what we have to do now. It will be a fun challenge next year.”

Verhaeghe spent the past season playing alongside captain Aleksander Barkov on the first line.

“It’s a pretty good player to be beside all year,” Verhaeghe said of Barkov. “I got pretty lucky. He’s an awesome player, and I can’t say enough good thinks about him. He’s a great leader too. He’s so easy to play with, so good defensively, offensively, and pretty much the total complete player. I mean he won the Selke this year. You can’t really ask for a better player to play with.

“Right from the start, [Quenneville] put us together. We had some pretty good chemistry right from the start.”

The Ontario native is staying ready and preparing for the upcoming season before heading back to South Florida.

“I kind of stayed on the ice this whole time,” Verhaeghe said. “I think things are probably going to get back in town the next couple of weeks and start to ramp it up, start skating a lot more and start getting ready for the year. I just want to build on what we did last year and I’m kind of eager to get back it right now actually.”

Looking ahead to the 2021-22 season, Verhaeghe is optimistic about the team that they have.

“I think with this group, we can really do something special,” Verhaeghe said. “It’s a really exciting time to be part of the Panthers.”

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191260 Los Angeles Kings dependent on him for playing time, creating another resource for the aspiring professionals.

For the first time, at least in Los Angeles, players had another resource, As he moves on from the Kings, Mike O’Connell reflects back fondly on and it was one that wasn’t responsible for assigning their roles during his 15 years with the organization games. O’Connell, along with others, including Nelson Emerson, worked to build relationships with the organization’s prospects and gain their trust. As players began to understand what the role was, the process By Zach Dooley began to flourish.

“When you’re dealing with coaches, at any level, the coach controls the player’s ice time, and in a development role we do not, we have nothing Throughout my time in hockey, I’ve traditionally found that two types of to do with how much a player plays,” O’Connell said. “We’re looking at it things are remembered by people in the industry when they reflect back. a little deeper than the coaching staff. The coaching staff has so many The first is, naturally, winning. more responsibilities, they have to look after 20 guys. We’re there for a lot of little things, and once you build a relationship, the players will open For Mike O’Connell, who departed the Kings organization this summer up to you. We’re trying to help them understand that we’re there to try after 15 years in LA, winning was an obvious one. O’Connell was an and help them get better, and really that was the strength of it.” executive on two Stanley Cup teams in Los Angeles, with a lead role in player development. As the concept of the player development staff began to make inroads, the organization began to see the fruits of their labor on the ice. “The two cups were terrific, to do that, and they were unbelievable,” Beginning with his first season in 2006-07, when the Kings won just 27 O’Connell said. “To experience that, having gone so long in my career, games, the franchise began to transform itself into a winner, ultimately and to finally have those cups at my house, with my family around, those culminating in the organization’s first championship in 2012. were pretty good moments.” On that 2012 team were several players who worked extensively with the The second, and this is perhaps the only thing that could stick with a player development staff, with the same being said about the 2014 competitor more than winning, is the relationships built along the way. squad. While there’s never just one factor, O’Connell hoped that what he and his team integrated had an impact on developing the players who Lifelong relationships in many cases, that go beyond who you’re played on those teams. collecting your paycheck from at that time. Frequently, these two things go hand-in-hand, with the relationships built through winning only feeling “You’d like to think that we had some bearing on it, and I really, truly that much greater. As he says his final goodbyes to the organization he’s believe that we did,” he explained. “As the players came through – Lewis, called home since 2006, O’Connell certainly has many people who he’ll Clifford, Muzzin, Martinez, King, Nolan – and I’m probably missing a few, remember, through the good times and the bad. you hope that you did play a part. I think what we did, is that we sped the process up for a lot of those guys, and that was the goal. A lot of those “I hope so, I really do,” he said, of those lasting relationships within the guys were going to learn eventually what we’re teaching, but we tried to Kings organization. “I think about it, I’ve been in this game for so long. I speed it up by doing a little extra.” think of I coached him in Providence, I traded him a couple times, traded back for him a couple times. Sean O’Donnell was the By my count, 11 players who were drafted by the Kings between 2006 same, signed him as a free agent, let him go, I worked with him. Nelson and 2011 played a part in the organization’s two championships, all of Emerson, I coached against him when he was in Peoria, I was coaching whom went through the development structure put in place by the Kings. in San Diego. Mike Donnelly, it goes on and on, the front office, Dan O’Connell would be the first to tell you it wasn’t all the player Beckerman, he was unbelievable to us all, the Anschutz family. As I said development staff, and he was quick to credit the large role played by the to Luc [Robitaille] and Rob [Blake], and all those guys, I’m really going to organization’s AHL coaches for their part in the success of these younger miss them. It was really a great experience, and I feel really proud, I feel players. that I helped people get better. When you become a senior advisor, that’s really what you try to do, is to help people.” The system has continued to help with the development process of future Kings, ranging from Cal Petersen in net to Sean Walker on the blueline O’Connell has worn several different hats throughout his professional and Adrian Kempe at forward, just to name a few of the current NHL career, and as he continued his growth throughout the Kings regulars who came through the system in Los Angeles. organization, though his central focus always remained the same – help people to get better. Heck, the system even went overseas, as the Player Development crew began to implement a similar structure with Eisbaren Berlin, with that With regards to his time with the Kings, it makes the most sense to start team winning the DEL championship this past season, another proud in 2006, when he was first hired by the organization. moment for O’Connell.

The Chicago native is a veteran of more than 850 NHL games as a “The whole Berlin experience has been great, to win a championship player and had been a minor-league head coach, an NHL Assistant there, and to have some say in that, was great last year,” he said, coach and an NHL general manager after he retired. After parting ways unprompted. “Working with Stephane, Peter Lee, that was an awesome with the Boston Bruins midway through the 2005-06 season, O’Connell opportunity, we’re starting to develop a good process over there as well.” was in search of a new opportunity, and an intriguing one came through the form of the LA Kings and Dean Lombardi. While he couldn’t pinpoint just one development story that he was most proud of, O’Connell couldn’t stop naming guys he worked with, who went Lombardi saw a new vision for developing and grooming young players, on to find success with the Kings and throughout the NHL, guys he still from the time they were drafted through the minor leagues and eventually keeps in touch with to this day. That speaks to proof of concept for what to the NHL. Typically, at that time, the term “player development” was was implemented now 15 years ago. just a buzzword, not a full-scale department within an organization. Lombardi saw a new way forward, which would integrate O’Connell in a As he now moves on to the next chapter in his career, O’Connell leaves different role, working in a hands-on capacity with the organization’s the West Coast thankful, and with family in mind. prospects as they worked to grow into NHL players. Heading back East was a priority for him. Being based out of “We found a niche in developing players and I think we just kept going, Massachusetts, he felt that he couldn’t give what was needed to both his learning and getting better,” O’Connell said. “Dean gave us that family and to the Kings, and a move to an organization closer to home opportunity to have a voice in development, where I think most of the allows him to do that. time, it was just left up to the minor-league coach to develop these “To do the job correctly, I would need to spend more time in Los Angeles, players. Dean had this vision of a model, basically, and that’s and it was a tough decision, but it was time,” he said. what we worked off of.” As he officially moves on, O’Connell – who this week joined the Flyers in At that time, around the hockey community, developing AHL players a front-office capacity – will see his time in Los Angeles ultimately looked typically fell solely onto the shoulders of the AHL coaching staff. Adding back upon for the team’s success in 2012 and 2014, as it will for most in player development saw a new philosophy, which gave individuals executives from that time. He’ll also be known as someone who worked such as O’Connell the chance to work with players who weren’t to develop and enhance younger players, accelerating their development curves from drafted prospects into NHL contributors.

“As I was saying to Rob and Luc, I think the whole COVID thing opened my eyes a bit that it’s nice being home, or closer to home. I’ve been in this job for many, many years, and they were great when I told them, they gave me some time to make my decision, and I just thought it was time.”

While it may be time, it’ll be the things that transcend it – winning and relationships – that matter most from the years that were. And that’s something to always look back upon.

Flyers also have hired Mike O'Connell as senior advisor to the GM for player development. He had worked in Kings front office since 2006. Also Nick Beverly hired as a pro scout and Matt Bardsley hired as amateur scout. Bardsley was GM of WHL Kamloops.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191261 Los Angeles Kings

Ontario Reign ink three on AHL contracts

By LA Kings

The , proud AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, have signed forwards Brett Kemp and Nikita Pavlychev, and goaltender John Lethemon to one-year contracts.

Kemp, 21, served as an alternate captain for the (WHL) where he registered 31 points (12-19=31) in 23 games, the most of any Tiger this season. The 6-1, 175-pound forward also spent time this past season with the Yorkton Terriers in the SJHL, tallying 10 points (3- 7=10) in six outings.

The 2020-21 season was his fifth season in the WHL and second with Medicine Hat after also skating for the Edmonton Oil Kings and Everett Silvertips. In 255 regular-season WHL games, he registered 218 points (96-122=218) and added another three points (1-2=3) in six playoff games. A native of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, his best WHL season came in 2019-20 when he registered career-bests in assists (47) and points (30-47=77).

Pavlychev, 24, made his professional debut last season appearing in eight games with the (AHL), posting three points (0- 3=3) and a plus-2 rating. The 6-7, 200-pound center also played in 28 games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) recording 11 points (5- 6=11).

The Yaroslavl, Russia native played four seasons at Penn State (NCAA) prior to his professional career. He appeared in 137 games with the Nittany Lions where he registered 70 points (36-34=70) and helped them win the 2017 Big 10 Championship and the 2020 Big 10 Regular Season Championship.

Lethemon, 24, appeared in his first professional season last year with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) after four years at Michigan State (NCAA). He appeared in 25 games with Greenville, posting a 13-5-5 record, .903 save percentage, 2.71 goals-against average and one . He also played in four postseason games with a 2-1 record, .941 save percentage and 1.79 goals-against average.

The Northville, Mich. native played in 101 games for the Spartans prior to turning pro, posting a 38-55-5 record, .911 save percentage, 2.79 goals- against average and nine shutouts. The 6-3, 190-pound netminder was named to the 2020 Big 10 Second All-Star Team.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.04.2021

1191262 Minnesota Wild "We've got options at center ice," Evason said. "Clearly, you'd love to stay consistent. But it's such a long year that when you can have your team commit to playing with whoever, that it doesn't matter who you're playing with as long as you're playing with a Minnesota Wild player, then Wild coach Dean Evason on loss of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter: 'We you should be excited about that. Our guys committed to that last year, are going forward' and we don't expect them to not commit to it this year."

Players on the Wild keep coming and going, and the team didn't nosedive after last season's upheaval. By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune Now it's time for an encore, and Evason pegged leadership as what can AUGUST 4, 2021 — 1:54AM elicit the same response.

"That's why we're very confident in our ability as an organization and as a Half of the Wild's defense is new, and the forward lines are unclear. team and in that dressing room that they will not be flustered by any moves that were made," he said. But coach Dean Evason isn't preparing to overhaul the team's style of play after significant changes to the roster this offseason.

"We think it'll be seamless as far as the people that we have coming in Star Tribune LOADED: 08.04.2021 and filling in the spots that we lost," Evason said.

The Wild was in a similar position last season, re-calibrating after several departures and arrivals.

Aside from a completely different goaltending tandem, a third of the team's forward group changed. But Evason didn't throw out the game plan. Instead, he stuck with the aggressive, up-tempo pace that he implemented after taking over in February 2020 while making a few subtle adjustments.

That's also his focus this go-around.

"There are tweaks," Evason said during a video interview with reporters on Tuesday. "Whenever you lose out in the playoffs and unless you win [and] you have a perfect system and everything seems to go well, you start to collect things throughout the playoffs that we felt we could implement into our game systematically."

Most of the turnover is on the Wild's blue line.

Free-agent additions Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill will join returnees Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon, and Evason believes it won't take long for the newcomers to get up to speed with the Wild's scheme.

"It's our job as a coaching staff to get that right away implemented so that we can go out and play the game kind of mind-free," Evason said.

This makeover to the back end started when the Wild bought out Ryan Suter, along with Zach Parise, decisions that didn't catch Evason off- guard.

"Nothing was a surprise," he said. "We are going forward. Obviously, this is what we feel as an organization is going to give us our best opportunity to move forward and ultimately towards the goal of winning a Stanley Cup. Ryan and Zach were not only great players for this organization but great people off the ice and in the community.

"We are going to ask a lot of people to step up in all areas with them being gone."

Up front, the depth chart isn't as obvious.

Frederick Gaudreau is a possible linemate for Kevin Fiala; Evason coached both players in the Nashville organization and said the two previously played together. Gaudreau has experience at center and wing, and Evason has considered him at both spots.

Everyone else was with the Wild last season, but Evason is still going to experiment with the lines.

"We've got a long training camp," he said. "We've got great practice time. We've got obviously six [preseason] games that we have to watch, so we're going to have a real good opportunity. But it's nice now that we kind of know what works clearly in the past, but that doesn't mean that it's going to work in the future either.

"We'll definitely play around with some stuff in training camp, which will be fun for us as coaches."

Last season, the Wild went with a by-committee strategy at center and unless management brings in someone else, the team is facing that blueprint once again. 1191263 Minnesota Wild Two new alternate captains need to be appointed to replace Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and Evason expects the Wild will reveal its picks during training camp.

Wild coaches already contemplating lineups, even though roster still has Last season, Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and Matt holes Dumba wore an 'A' on their jersey when Parise was out of the lineup — perhaps an indication of who the team will consider in its decision.

New numbers By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune Goligoski will wear No. 47, Kulikov No. 29, Merrill No. 4 and Gaudreau AUGUST 4, 2021 — 1:53AM No. 89.

Wild coaches have already started contemplating what the lineup could Star Tribune LOADED: 08.04.2021 look like next season, but training camp will help decide where everyone plays.

Not only is that when the team plans to experiment with combinations, but coach Dean Evason believes prospects such as Calen Addison, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi will have an opportunity to audition for roster spots.

"Absolutely," Evason said Tuesday during a video interview. "That's what we want. We want that competitive nature. If you're coming to a camp, you better be prepared to make the team."

Unlike previous seasons when the Wild had enough players signed to fill every position, the team could be entering camp with some holes.

Even after re-signing Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala, the team would have just 11 NHL forwards under contract. This includes the addition of Frederick Gaudreau. The blue line has enough numbers after the acquisitions of Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill but no clear seventh defenseman.

These roles could be taken by the depth players the Wild signed or even some standouts from the minors like forward Brandon Duhaime, who re- signed last week.

The team also has plenty of time to bring in more options, either via free agency or trade, but Wild brass could also be intrigued by the prospects in camp if they look ready.

Addison has already been ushered into NHL duty, making his debut last February and then swooping in during the playoffs after Carson Soucy was injured. Boldy turned pro in March and had six goals and 12 assists in 14 games with Iowa in the American Hockey League. As for Rossi, he is coming back from a lengthy absence after he was sidelined by complications from COVID-19.

"Our minds are open," Evason said. "Clearly, we have NHL contracts so those are the people that are going to have an opportunity obviously. But there's a lot of positions that are open. Yeah, for sure, young guys and/or older guys can come in and compete for a job. If they do that, we've got a training camp this year with lots of exhibition games so there's no reason why everybody can't step up and compete for a spot on our roster."

Team-wide recognition

Evason's work behind the bench last season didn't go unnoticed.

The 56-year-old finished second in voting for the as Coach of the Year, an honor Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour won in June, and Evason described his acknowledgement as a reflection of the entire team.

"It was exciting for the organization," he said. "It meant a lot to me that our coaching staff gets the recognition that we did a good job as a coaching staff. But ultimately, management has to do a tremendous job to give you players to coach and then ultimately the players have to play the game.

"There's a lot of different elements that go into it, but I was very excited about our coaching staff, very excited for our coaching staff, and the way that we worked together clearly showed and translated into being a part of having some success last season."

Same staff

The entire coaching staff, which includes assistants Bob Woods, Darby Hendrickson and Brett McLean, will return next season, Evason said.

Leadership change 1191264 Minnesota Wild

Wild coach Dean Evason already tinkering with a potential lineup

By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press

PUBLISHED: August 3, 2021 at 2:08 p.m. | UPDATED: August 3, 2021 at 2:09 p.m.

Dean Evason has been back home in Montreal for the past month and a half. He doesn’t plan to return to Minnesota until after Labor Day.

But the 56-year-old Wild coach is already looking ahead to next season.

He has been tinkering with his lineup since last week when the Wild started the process of filling out their roster for the 2020-21 season. He likes the signing of veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski as well as the grit fellow defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill will bring. He’s also a big fan of center Frederick Gaudreau, who he coached during their time together in the organization.

Though the lineup itself is far from complete, the possibilities are endless for the Wild with training camp coming up next month.

“We had a Zoom meeting last week and it’s fun to get our depth chart and start putting lines together,” Evason said. “We talked about this last year at training camp. We’re going to see who’s going to fit where.”

The most intriguing position is center, but then, isn’t it always? A couple of weeks ago general manager teased that the Wild might have to take a by-committee approach at that position once again, and based on the way this offseason has transpired, it looks like that is likely.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Wild had the following players at their disposal at center: Joel Eriksson Ek, Victor Rask, Ryan Hartman, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Sturm and Gaudreau. There’s also the potential that top prospect Marco Rossi competes for a spot in training camp. Same for Connor Dewar.

“There’s always the talk of, ‘Our center ice is this, our center ice is that,’ ” Evason said. “We have a lot of (players) that can go into those spots, as we did last year. We put people at different times into our so-called top center positions (last year), and we’re going to have to do that again (this year).”

Maybe the best aspect of the current Wild roster is that many players have position flexibility. In a pinch, Rask can play center and/or wing, as can Hartman, Bjugstad, Sturm and Gaudreau. That gives the coaching staff some options when putting together the lineup.

“We’ve talked about this before, that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing with, as long as you’re playing with a Minnesota Wild player, then you should be excited about that,” Evason said. “Our guys committed to that last year. We don’t expect them to not commit to that this year.”

There are certainly line combinations from last year that seem like a natural fit. The Wild won’t go away from Eriksson Ek centering Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno, right? That trio was so dominant in nearly every situation.

That was Evason’s thoughts initially, too, before taking a step back and realizing that training camp is the time to tinker. There’s the thought Eriksson Ek could thrive in an elevated role. Or maybe someone else is just as effective between Greenway and Foligno.

“We’re going to try some stuff for sure and see how it works,” Evason said. “It’s nice now that we know what’s worked in the past, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to work in the future. We’ll definitely play around with some stuff in training camp, which will be fun for us as coaches.”

Pioneer Press LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191265 Minnesota Wild icemen that can go into those spots. And as we did last year, we put people at different times into our so-called top center positions. And we’re gonna have to do that again. So we’ve played around with him being at center and being at the wing, but I liked him at both, for me, in Wild’s Dean Evason on dramatic roster changes, Boldy and Rossi the past. So we’ll see where he lands once camp ends.” making team; plus Fiala’s rare arbitration • Continuing on the center by committee topic: “I think back to a few years ago, four years ago maybe, we had no center-icemen. It’s very difficult to try to put people that haven’t played center into the center-ice By Michael Russo position. Especially in the National Hockey League. We’ve got options at Aug 3, 2021 center-ice, we’ve got guys that we saw last year with (Ryan Hartman) and (Victor) Rask and (Nick Bjugstad) and (Joel Eriksson) Ek, we had people moving around the center-ice all over the place. Cleary we’d love to stay consistent, but it’s such a long year that when you can have your It has been a busy offseason for the Wild after making the playoffs for the team commit to playing with whoever, it doesn’t matter who you’re eighth time in nine years. But after failing to advance beyond the first playing with as long as you’re playing with a Minnesota Wild player, then round for the fifth time since 2015, changes were inevitable. you should be excited about that. Our guys committed to that last year On Tuesday, Wild coach Dean Evason, the Jack Adams Trophy finalist and we don’t expect them to not commit to that this year.” from last season, hopped on a video call with the local beat writers from • On whether the door is open for youngsters like Boldy, Rossi and Calen his home in Montreal to discuss a roster that’s changed pretty Addison: “Absolutely. That’s what we want. We want that competitive dramatically. nature. If you’re coming to a National Hockey League camp, you better Gone are forwards Zach Parise (Islanders), Marcus Johansson be prepared to make the team. That’s what you’re doing there. Our (unsigned) and Nick Bonino (San Jose), defensemen Ryan Suter minds are open. We don’t close anything to, ‘Well this guy is penciled (Dallas), Carson Soucy (Seattle), Ian Cole (Carolina) and Brad Hunt here and that guy is penciled there.’ Clearly, we have NHL contracts, so (Vancouver) and depth forwards Gerry Mayhew (two-way contract with those are the people that are going to have an opportunity. But there’s a Philadelphia) and Luke Johnson (two-way contract with Winnipeg). The lot of positions that are open and for sure young guys and/or older guys Wild also traded the rights to Brennan Menell to Toronto, who has since can come in and compete for a job. If they do that, we’ve got a training signed a lucrative two-way contract. camp this year with lots of exhibition games, so there’s no reason why everybody can’t step up and compete for a spot on our roster.” Added were defensemen Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill and forward Freddy Gaudreau. • On not being surprised by the Parise and Suter buyouts: “We communicate as an organization. All of us. Nothing was a surprise. We There’s a lot of offseason left, but here are some Evason quotes from are going forward. Obviously, this is what we feel as an organization is Tuesday’s call on the roster, his relationship with Gaudreau, integrating going to give us our best opportunity to move forward and ultimately so many new defensemen onto the team, another potential year of center towards the goal of winning a Stanley Cup. Ryan and Zach were not only by committee, the door being possibly open for youngsters like Matt great players for this organization, but great people off the ice and in the Boldy and Marco Rossi, the buyouts of Parise and Suter and considering community. We are going to ask a lot of people to step up in all areas two new alternate captains to replace Parise and Suter, who had both with them being gone.” donned an ‘A’ since their July 2012 opening news conference: • On potentially breaking up Jordan Greenway, Eriksson Ek and Marcus • On the new-look blue line and how they may add a new physical Foligno so perhaps Eriksson Ek elevates between two more skilled element: “(Kulikov and Merrill) are gritty guys, obviously, play hard. The wingers: “When you look at it, you go, ‘Geez, you can’t touch that.’ And game’s changed. It’s not the days of having kind of one skilled guy and then you go, ‘Well, no.’ If you did, and we play around with it, Foligno one real gritty, tough guy, in a pair. That’s gone. I think everybody that looks good with somebody or Greenway looks good with somebody or plays in the National Hockey League now has bite to them and plays Eriksson Ek looks real good in the middle with that guy or those two hard, and has different skill sets. But the people that we’ve signed for our guys. We’re going to try some stuff for sure and see how it works. Again, back end, we think all of them have bite and have grit. But it’s no different we’ve got a long training camp. We’ve got great practice time. We’ve got than everybody else on our hockey club. We ask everybody to play that six (exhibition) games that we have to watch, so we’re going to have a style of game and we feel that’ll give us a chance to have success.” real good opportunity. It’s nice now that we kind of know what works • On if it’s simple to integrate so many new defensemen into the Wild’s clearly in the past, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to work in the defensive structure: “Yeah, I think so. There’s different tweaks, obviously, future either. We’ll definitely play around with some stuff in training camp, that every team has systematically. But when you get veteran people that which will be fun for us as coaches.” have played the game, and not even played the game at the National • On the team’s leadership: “That’s why we’re very confident in our ability Hockey League level, just played for some time, you’re gonna see a lot of as an organization and as a team and in that dressing room that they will different systems. And it won’t take long for guys to get dialed in. And it’s not be flustered by any moves that were made outside of the dressing our job as a coaching staff to get that right away implemented so that we room and the people that come in will be led the right way by our captain can go out and play the game mind-free.” Jared Spurgeon. Obviously, we’ve got two assistant captain positions • On Freddy Gaudreau, whom Evason had a great relationship with in that we are talking about and going to have to put letters on jerseys. But Milwaukee: “He had ups and downs there. I joke that I was the coach at Jared Spurgeon is our captain, is our leader. He is the guy that will the time that sent him to the East Coast League. But he’s just a welcome every one of the guys coming in. We all know that. He creates competitive guy. He’s got a great skill set that didn’t translate early in his the environment in there that’s comfortable for everybody to feel good career, and that’s why he went down. But the willingness to do that, to go about not only going out and playing the game but having a voice in the down and accept, ‘OK, I’m gonna go down and play,’ I mean, that says a locker room the way that he leads. So we’re very confident that they’ll be lot about a person. He found his game and played extremely well at the no issues in that department at all.” American Hockey League. He just seemed to get better each and every • On choosing two players to wear an ‘A’ (candidates include, likely, year and played extremely well in Pittsburgh, the games that we’ve Eriksson Ek (forgot him in original version), Foligno, Jonas Brodin, Matt watched. So we’re looking forward to having him, and I can attest to him Dumba, Mats Zuccarello, Goligoski, Hartman, Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov): being … a real, real, real good player, but a real good teammate as well.” “It’ll be training camp, for sure. We’re talking on it. Clearly, we’ve all • On where he sees Gaudreau fitting, especially because he played a lot voiced opinions and will continue to do that and people will think about it with Kevin Fiala in Milwaukee and briefly in Nashville as well: “(The and we have new people come in and you want to see how they react coaches) had a Zoom meeting last week and it’s fun to get your depth and act as well. Clearly, we have a thought process of what we’d like to chart and start putting lines together and fits together. He’s played with do but it’ll be interesting when we finally do announce it.” Fiala. That’s an exciting thing for me. I mean, they know each other. So Fiala: A rare club-elected arbitration that could be an option. But again, we talked about this last year at training camp. We’re gonna see who’s gonna fit where. We’ve got a lot of Because the arduous Kirill Kaprizov negotiations have been such a hot options again at center-ice. And I know there’s always the talk of, ‘Our topic here in Minnesota, we haven’t really reported much on the Kevin center-ice is this and our center-ice is that,’ but we’ve got a lot of center- Fiala contract talks other than pointing out that those, too, have not been why would Fiala want to sign long term if he knows it could make him going well. attractive to the Sabres or another team in a trade?

The Wild originally wanted to sign Kaprizov to a seven- or eight-year Remember, players can’t get contract protection until their unrestricted deal. Conversely, he wants three years or less, so the Wild now hope for years are bought, so Fiala isn’t eligible for no-trade protection until 2023. a four- or five-year compromise. So, theoretically, if he signs long term, he can be traded anywhere.

Right now, the two sides appear to be in a stalemate with the only The Wild seem to be waffling as to what to do with Fiala — commit to him pressure point on the horizon being training camp and, oh, the alleged or not — so it seems like they just decided to ensure there’s a resolution KHL threat that GM Bill Guerin doesn’t seem to be taking seriously. here and the talented forward is signed well in advance of training camp while they continue to hammer things out with Kaprizov. With this contract squabble expected to continue, the Wild want to ensure that Fiala’s negotiation will end. Evolving-Hockey, by the way, has Fiala projected at $5.36 million on a one-year deal and $5.44 million on a two-year deal. Our Dom All indications from the outset were Fiala wanted to sign long term at big Luszczyszyn’s data has Fiala’s market value at $6.1 million on average money, and the Wild have indicated all along they weren’t comfortable over the next seven years. Again, that’s market value, not cap hit or the going super long with him unless the salary figure made sense to them. price the player would be worth on the open market. But that’s obviously It obviously has not. high since Fiala’s an RFA and not theoretically on the open market for another two years. Over the next two seasons, his market value is After getting into a contract dispute with Fiala two summers ago before projected to be $6.75 million per season, on average. his eventual two-year, $6 million bridge deal, the Wild want to make sure he’s at training camp this time around, particularly after his slow start in 2019-20 following his late arrival. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 So, after Fiala didn’t file for arbitration over the weekend, the Wild pulled off a rarity and were the ones that elected for salary arbitration with him.

This almost never happens in the NHL.

The good news? It at least guarantees a resolution.

Arbitration hearings will be scheduled between Aug. 11-26. We should find out Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday what date Fiala will be put on the docket.

The only difference between player-elected arbitration and club-elected arbitration is the club has to offer the player at least the amount that the player made in the prior season. So, the Wild have to offer Fiala at least $3.5 million (his 2020-21 salary), which they’d obviously have no issue doing. Fiala’s camp submits its salary figure and the neutral arbitrator can pick between the two numbers.

The briefs and salary requests must be submitted by both sides no later than 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing.

Fiala will get to pick the term: one year, which would make him a restricted free agent again next summer; or two years, which would make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023.

Both sides are allowed to continue to negotiate a contract up until the scheduled hearing. The only change to this process is once the hearing starts, the arbitrator is the only one that gets to make the decision. In past years, contract talks between the two sides could continue up until a ruling.

Unlike player-elected arbitration, a club can not walk away from the ruling. So, even if the Wild aren’t happy with the arbitrator’s ruling, Fiala will be signed for one or two years (his choice) at the arbitrator’s price.

This is just a fascinating battle because there’s no doubt Fiala expected to be paid handsomely this summer.

In his eyes, I’m sure he feels he lived up to his bargain and produced during his bridge deal by leading the Wild in the past two regular seasons with 43 goals and 94 points in 114 games.

He fired his agent, Claude Lemieux, last year and hired some of the best in the business at Newport.

But the Wild have treated him differently than Kaprizov and I’ve got to imagine that has stung him. He didn’t get the $8 or $9 million offers that Kaprizov has. He didn’t get the seven- and eight-year offers that Kaprizov has.

The Wild, my guess, have been offering Fiala in the $5.5 million range. I also don’t see the Wild being willing to sign him longer than four years unless, again, the number makes sense.

The issue now the way I see it?

In a summer where Fiala’s name has undoubtedly come up in trade talks, if the Wild don’t sign Fiala to a term longer than two years, this diminishes a trade asset in the long run. As an example, what are the chances the Buffalo Sabres would want Fiala as part of a Jack Eichel package if they think he could walk in two years? Similarly, at this stage, 1191266 When he snuck onto the team, he spent the start of his first season alternating in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. He spent his days arriving to the rink as an extra, showering after practice, having his morning meal, and then attending school with his French-language How Canadiens draftee William Trudeau went from throwaway QMJHL teammates in the arena while the English students went to a local high trade piece to NHL prospect school.

“When you’re from and you come to the Maritimes, you have to learn quick because everything is in English. In the room. The majority of By Scott Wheeler your teammates. Your billets. So I had no choice but to practice. And Aug 3, 2021 when you talk with people whose first language is English, I think it’s easier to learn,” said Trudeau, now completely bilingual.

He eventually made enough of an impression on Hulton and Girouard to CALGARY — During the QMJHL’s Christmas trading period in 2018, earn third-pairing minutes. Islanders head coach and general manager Jim Hulton sat at a table with the rest of his management team trying to finalize a last- “He never said boo. He just kept working hard. We either have to kick minute trade with the . him off the ice or the rink guys have to kick him out of the building. He just goes to work. He just made the best of his chances and then Headed to Drummondville would be Pierre-Olivier Joseph, then a first- eventually we couldn’t take him out of the lineup,” said Girouard, who round pick of the Arizona Coyotes and one of the QMJHL’s true stars. handles the defence for the Islanders.

The return would be a package centred around a first-round pick, two When his first season in the QMJHL was over, cut short by the second-round picks, and New Jersey Devils draft pick Xavier Bernard. pandemic, Trudeau was just happy he’d established himself as an everyday player in the league. But before they finalized the deal, Hulton and his assistant general manager and associate head coach, Guy Girouard, decided that they “I just got lucky that (Hulton) liked what he saw. And then my game just should try to ask the Voltigeurs for a fifth and final piece. kept getting better and better and better,” Trudeau said. “I thought I had a pretty good season for a rookie. I didn’t put a lot of points on the board So they turned to their scouts and surveyed the room. but I don’t think it really matters. I did my job.” After going through a couple of obvious asks, one scout spoke up, But after posting 15 points in 58 games, he still wasn’t thinking about the voicing a favourable opinion of a kid who the Voltigeurs had taken in the NHL Draft. 11th round of the QMJHL draft that spring. Figuring that the 194th pick in that year’s QMJHL Draft wasn’t likely in the Voltigeurs plans, they asked NHL Central Scouting wasn’t yet thinking about him, either. When they for his inclusion. realized their initial players to watch list in October of 2020, Trudeau’s name wasn’t among the 346 that appeared on it. When the Voltigeurs said yes, they finalized the deal and announced the trade. It wasn’t until Christmas time, a couple of months later, that he says NHL scouts began to take any interest in him. That kid’s name was William Trudeau and two and a half years later, he became a fourth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021 NHL By then, he’d established himself on Charlottetown’s second pairing Draft. alongside fellow 2021 draft-eligible Oscar Plandowski (who received a ‘B’ rating indicating a likely second or third-round selection according to NHL On Monday morning, from a hotel in Calgary, he was among the few Central Scouting on that first list). Trudeau and Plandowski played dozen of Canada’s best under-20 hockey players invited to audition for behind Lukas Cormier, a top prospect of the Golden Knights, and his 19- its world juniors team. year-old partner Noah Laaouan. Hulton laughs about that story. And Trudeau was slowly emerging as a go-to guy for Hulton and “To be perfectly honest, he was a throwaway in the big P.O.-Joseph Girouard. trade. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t even know who this guy was “Cormier gets a lot of fanfare for the power play but Trudeau was on the when we traded for him,” Hulton said. “It was one of those where you’re second power play unit and Trudeau was a to-notch penalty killer. He’s a looking at the prospects and you’re hoping to make it look better on guy, because of his intellect, that in all situations. He paper than it does quite frankly.” contributes on both special teams and whenever you cut down your D to As it turns out, Trudeau does too. three or four guys late in games, he’s always one of them. He can play in a shutdown role or an offensive one. He’s just extremely versatile,” “I’ll be honest with you, I did not really think I’d get here. When I got Hulton said. drafted into the QMJHL, I was actually surprised,” Trudeau said, chuckling to himself. “I didn’t have any expectations going into it. I was “I have confidence in him in every situation,” Girouard said. “He’s calm just happy that Drummondville gave me a chance to be drafted into the and he never panics with the puck. We’re big on asking the players to Q.” make plays. We don’t want them going high off the glass and out. We want them to get better and we want them to be a puck control team. And It’s not lost on Trudeau that most of the players at Team Canada’s he’s really good at that. He has this little hesitation and really good summer camp travelled a much different path to Calgary than he did. escapes. He gets the forechecker to bite, he goes the other way, he While his peers were being recruited to prep schools in Western Canada, makes a play and then suddenly we’re up the ice.” or tearing up the GTHL, or playing midget AAA hockey in Quebec above When NHL Central Scouting eventually updated their players to watch list their age group, he was posting 12 points in 31 games as the AA in January, Trudeau appeared for the first time with a ‘C’ rating indicating Mortagne Noir et Or Espoir’s 10th-leading scorer and fourth-most a “4th/5th/6th round candidate.” productive defencemen in 2017-2018. As the season continued, the 6-foot, 189-pound then defender began to When he was acquired by the Islanders, he was still playing at Quebec’s benefit from the number of games that the contending Islanders were under-18 AAA level with the Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois while his 2002-born playing while the OHL and Sweden’s junior league ran dormant. After peers, like would-be Oilers first rounder Xavier Bourgault, played in the posting 31 points in 40 games, that attention also spilled into a two-round QMJHL. That year with Saint-Hyacinthe, he finished 11th on the team in playoff run. scoring and fourth among its defencemen with just two goals and 19 points in 42 games. Down the stretch, Hulton began to push NHL teams hard for Trudeau as a worthwhile NHL pick, vouching for his talent level as much as his By the time he arrived in Charlottetown for his first training camp in 2019- perseverance. 2020, he wasn’t even promised a spot. When his draft year was over and NHL Central Scouting released its final He also couldn’t speak English. list, Trudeau’s ranked 68th among all North American skaters. “His greatest asset is his mind. His hockey IQ is really, really high. I think “He’s the best example of where you’re selected won’t affect you down that’s what really jumped off the page in particular this year for NHL the road,” said Team Canada assistant coach Louis Robitaille, who has scouts. He adapts to situations quickly. He’s really smart. He’s got a seen Trudeau firsthand through his role as the head coach and general great stick defensively. He knows the proverbial quiet areas. And then manager with the . he’s got an underrated sneaky-good shot too,” Hulton said. “I’m a big fan of Willy.” “It’s really what you do after you’re selected that matters. He’s a kid that’s really passionate, who put in the work and proved year after year in Girouard describes him as a quiet kid of few words who has come into Charlottetown who he was. This year, on a really good club in his own across the last two seasons. Charlottetown, he established himself as one of the best defencemen in the QMJHL. He’s a guy with tremendous hockey sense, he’s mobile, he “He’s not the voice you hear coming out of the dressing room when the has skills. He handled it really well and he showcased his skill and it players are chatting. But the more his play improved, the more his hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s one of those guys who is a late bloomer and English improved as well and he got more confident. So he doesn’t take deserves all the credit for where he is.” too much space in the room but he takes his space and doesn’t let anyone take it away,” Girouard said. When Girouard looks back at the trade that brought Trudeau to Charlottetown now, he just shakes his head. Trudeau admits that a couple of years ago, he didn’t really know who he was as a player. Now he can describe his game in clear terms. “We were pretty fortunate and pretty happy about how it turned out,” he said, laughing. “You can’t help but be happy for a kid like that. He’s an “I’m a two-way defenceman that can play at both ends. Offensively, I use 11th-round pick into our league but he just kept his head down, did the my sense to make plays and I like to put pucks on net. And defensively, work, and on top of it he’s a kid who is from the Montreal area and it’s a I’ve got a great stick and I play my role well to use my IQ and my poise to dream come true for him. It’s a Cinderella story.” make great first passes and start the transition. And then on the forecheck, I’m smart enough to beat it,” Trudeau said.

Through it all, Trudeau and his family still didn’t know where he’d be The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 picked.

But that didn’t matter because it had only recently become the dream that it always has been for so many of the other selections.

When it was the Canadiens who called his name in the fourth round, it became something more than a dream for a kid who’d grown up idolizing PK Subban in Montreal’s suburbs.

“I didn’t have any feeling that I was going to go there. But I mean,” he said, pausing as if to emphasize the point, “I’m really happy.”

It doesn’t just mean more to him than most, either, he says. It means more to his family, too. To his siblings Julien and Emilie. To his dad, Marc, an electrician. To his mom, Danielle, an accountant.

“It meant a lot for my family. They were always there for me during minor hockey even when it looked like I might not make it,” Trudeau said.

That’s not lost on Hulton, either.

“This is all uncharted waters for the family. That’s why it’s such a refreshing story, for a kid like this to get drafted by the Montreal Canadiens,” he said. “A kid like Plandowski has been a high-profile guy most of his life, his parents are in the industry, he was always a part of the elite camps. Well, Willy hasn’t. Willy wasn’t even a high-profile guy in his own town. So he has just kind of come out of nowhere and has had to work for it under the radar. He’s just now beginning to blossom and make his way onto the landscape. It’s a great story. He’s a terrifically nice kid. All he has done from that point on is just continue to add new layers to his game and meet new challenges.”

Were it not for his October 2002 birthday, Hulton’s not sure he would have been picked at all. If he were born a month earlier, he would have been eligible for the 2020 draft and a complete unknown. If he were born any later, he may not have had the time to grow into his game in Charlottetown as he did.

But he always comes back to the way Trudeau stuck with it. Because the rest is now irrelevant.

“You could go a month without hearing from him. He’s a zero- maintenance player and he’s a joy to coach because if you talk to our trainer or our athletic therapist, they’re like ‘This guy never asks for anything. He’s not asking for his skates to be sharpened every day, he’s not asking for new sticks, he’s not talking about nagging injuries and it’s the same way for our coaching staff where if we touch base with him every couple of days to say ‘Hey William, how’s it going’, it’s always ‘Great!’ and it’s the same answer all the time. You talk to people at our school and it’s the same: ‘He’s a self-starter who just opens up the laptop and goes to work,'” Hulton said. “That’s Willy.”

He’s not done playing catch-up quite yet though.

When he got invited to the world juniors showcase in Calgary, it was his first time attending any Hockey Canada camp.

He has already turned one of the staff into a fan, though. 1191267 New York Islanders

Isles name Rick Kowalsky an assistant coach for Bridgeport affiliate

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinSNewsday

Updated August 3, 2021 12:01 PM

It’s been radio silence for the Islanders since NHL free agency began last week, but the team finally made an announcement Tuesday.

About a coach. For their AHL team.

The Islanders announced they’ve hired an assistant coach for their farm team, Rick Kowalsky. Kowalsky, 49, joins the Bridgeport staff after serving as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils the last three seasons.

Prior to that, Kowalsky was the head coach for the Devils’ AHL affiliate in Binghamton, and in Albany before that, for eight seasons, and the head coach of their ECHL affiliate in Trenton, N.J. for four seasons before that.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191268 New York Islanders likely won’t be ready for the start of the season, possibly weeks beyond that. And the Isles don’t really have a safety net on defense.

Mattias Ekholm, Predators: His name was certainly bandied about an What are the Islanders doing? Clues about the Isles’ defense options, awful lot at the trade deadline, but Ekholm stayed in Nashville. The Preds forward logjam and more are trying to retool on the fly, sending Ryan Ellis to Philly and still looking to shed one of their awful forward contracts. An Ekholm deal would almost certainly require going the other way, unlike the players listed above. Ekholm would be an upgrade behind Adam By Arthur Staple Pelech, but it would come at a high price. Aug 3, 2021 Cam Fowler, Ducks: Speaking of high prices, Fowler would cost plenty in assets and cap space, with five years at $6.5 million remaining. He’s a high-level defenseman, but that sort of term seems prohibitive, especially We’re nearly a week into free agency and the only team that hasn’t if it costs the Islanders Beauvillier plus other assets. registered anything with the league is — you guessed it — the Islanders. As far as reasons why, not much has changed from the last “update” we Nathan Beaulieu, Jets: A lower-cost (one year at $1.25 million left) gave at the end of last week. Lou Lamoriello isn’t interested in splashy journeyman who has mostly operated as a No. 6/7 defenseman over his social-media announcements or agents proudly boasting how much they career. It’s unlikely the Isles would acquire Beaulieu to be a second-pair got from the Isles for their clients. guy, but, perhaps if they can’t make a bigger deal, it could be a top-four- by-committee situation? That doesn’t sound too appealing. So the cone of silence continues while the rest of the league goes about its business. Which means some Islander options are coming into clearer Damon Severson, Devils: We know that Lamoriello likes players whom focus, at least in a couple of areas. he drafted and who played for him previously. Severson is a talented defenseman who’s filled a lot of roles on the struggling Devils the past What’s the deal on D? few seasons. The biggest drawback: He’s a righty. The Isles, if ’s preference still stands, really need a lefty to step into Leddy’s Ryan Murray was the last top-four defenseman to sign. His one-year, $2 spot. There’d have to be more moving parts that preceded a Severson million deal with the Avalanche on Monday means there are basically acquisition. zero unrestricted free agent (UFA) options for the Islanders to replace Nick Leddy. The extreme silence around Murray’s few days on the Nothing’s changed as far as announcements of Islander contracts as of market could lead one to believe the Islanders made an offer that Murray Tuesday. Kyle Palmieri will remain an Islander; so, too, will Casey was considering, but ultimately he went to a Colorado team that’s primed Cizikas. It’s pretty certain Travis Zajac will be back as well. Zach Parise to make a Stanley Cup run. will be an Islander. Depth forwards and Anatolii Golyshev are believed to have signed deals. Richard Panik came over in That’s what the Islanders are trying to do, too. Trading Leddy to the Red the Leddy trade. Leo Komarov and are also still here, Wings seemed like a must at the time to get the Isles cap situation in entering the final years of their deals. better order. But now, with Ryan Suter, Alex Goligoski and now Murray off the market, the Isles’ plan seems clearly headed toward acquiring a So that’s a lot of forwards with NHL experience — possibly 16 if defenseman in a trade. Beauvillier, and all remain, 17 if you include Golyshev, who was in the KHL the past eight years. This is a murkier proposition, of course. It’s hard to gauge what the ask is for many of the possible left-handed defensemen the Isles could be There’s not enough room for everyone, obviously. Some contracts can discussing and what might be required to go out in a trade to make the be buried fully in the AHL, but everyone except deal work — and then whether Lamoriello will have another roster spot to requires waivers next season. More bodies have to move out before fill as a result. training camp begins — several more if the Isles are still in the hunt for Vladimir Tarasenko or another top-six wing. We’ve gone over every other team’s roster to find some options, including a few we already mentioned a week ago on the eve of free The Islanders did make an actual announcement Tuesday. Rick agency. Kowalsky, who was the coach for the Devils’ AHL team for eight seasons and a Devils assistant coach the past three years, was hired as an Vince Dunn, Kraken: He still hasn’t signed with Seattle and filed for assistant in Bridgeport. and , Sound Tigers salary arbitration Sunday, assuring either Seattle or another team of a assistants for the past 10 and five seasons, respectively, were let go. one-year deal at a reasonable price (he made $1.875 million last season). The downside for the Islanders may be that Dunn is 24 and Bridgeport coach will return for his ninth season behind might not be able to step into a top-four role on a new team that has the Sound Tigers bench. But Kowalsky has the history with Lou and immediate Cup aspirations. For the long haul, he makes a lot of sense. , so perhaps this is the first step toward a bigger change. For a short-term, win-now team, perhaps not.

Hampus Lindholm, Ducks: He has a year left on his deal and a solid track record in Anaheim despite an injury-marred 2020-21. Of course, his cap The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 hit is just slightly less than Leddy’s, making you wonder if having to give up assets — could the Isles get Lindholm for a second-round pick and an average prospect? — rather than just keeping Leddy for another year is the right call.

Calvin de Haan, Blackhawks: He also has a year left on his deal and is a familiar face to Isles fans and numerous teammates, having been on the Island for the first six seasons of his NHL career. The shoulder injuries that cut into his time with the Isles have surfaced recently, but he’s healthy now and a cagey veteran these days.

Vladislav Gavrikov, Blue Jackets: He has two years left at $2.8 million and has grown into a useful piece of the Columbus defense in just a couple of NHL seasons. It’s hard to know if he’s even available but Columbus, having unloaded Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson in the past few weeks, might be willing to grab more futures for another established player.

Jake Gardiner, Hurricanes: He fits the “played for Lou” vein of pretty much every other acquisition Lamoriello has made for the Islanders, he’s fallen out of favor in Carolina and he knows his way around the point on a power play. Here’s the catch with Gardiner: He’s awaiting surgery and 1191269 New York Islanders What role will you have with ESPN as it begins its new partnership with the NHL next season?

I think it’s going to be as a studio analyst. We had a phone call Q&A: ESPN analyst Rick DiPietro on NHL buyouts, Simone Biles, and yesterday, kind of just touching base, trying to figure everything out. We’ll the story behind his Twitter handle have another meeting leading up to it, and kind of figure out the schedules.

What is your favourite part of being on this side of the player/media By Sean Fitz-Gerald divide?

Aug 3, 2021 It’s easier on the body. Not nearly as many injuries. I think it’s the interaction. One of the coolest parts for me — because I’m a huge sports

fan — is getting to go to Jets training camp and meeting the coach and On a midsummer afternoon, far from any arena or radio studio, Rick the general manager and picking their brain. Or when I was doing stuff DiPietro was just a father dealing with some broken marine equipment. It for the Islanders, getting to see some old faces and old coaches and was a jet-ski that was the problem. players that I played with. The radio is my favourite. It’s more of a longer format. You get into a lot of conversations. “Decided to kick the bucket,” he said “It was a mess.” How might your experience on the ice and in the dressing room influence They had to tow it to shore to charge the battery. the perspective you pass along to your viewers and listeners?

“We’re good,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s a family vacation.” Quite a bit. I have a six-year-old son now who really likes hockey. I’m coaching high school hockey, too. If you name it, I feel like I’ve already Work will return soon enough, when the 39-year-old takes another step experienced it. In the moment, that’s not really something you’re thinking into his second career this fall, as an NHL analyst within ESPN’s new about. Injuries, concussions. Whatever you want, I’ve probably talent roster. DiPietro will join , Hilary Knight and more than experienced it. 20 other experts as the U.S. cable sports monolith embarks on its new seven-year deal with the league. Why is it that so many goalies still seem to be working as analysts on television? He has already established his voice in media, working as a morning show host with an ESPN station in New York. DiPietro might be better Part of it is that you get to see the whole game, right? You see it in known for his first career: As a star prospect taken first overall by the baseball, too. A lot of really good baseball managers were catchers. You New York Islanders in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. see it now in the NFL where a lot of the head coaches are starting to get more like special teams coaches, because they work with the defence Six years later, he signed a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million that and the offence. should have had him in goal as the Islanders returned to prominence. Except his story took a detour. It was his body that gave out on him, Minnesota bought out two long-term contracts earlier this summer, with stranding him as he approached what should have been his prime. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. How might that impact a player mentally?

New York bought him out of his deal in 2013 and will continue to pay him It’s tough. It’s not easy. For me, it was devastating. I’ll never forget the $1.5 million a year through the 2028-29 season. The move soured him day I got put on waivers. Hell, I spent the whole plane ride to Buffalo in on the business, but the sport eventually drew him back. the back of the plane kind of sitting there, crying, not knowing what was next. It’s a scary thought, not knowing if I was going to keep playing. I DiPietro took time out of his vacation to field questions from The Athletic, always thought that I would be an Islander for life, and that was the only talking about NHL buyouts, Simone Biles and the story behind his team I ever wanted to play on. Once I got bought out, it was, ‘Do I try to unusual Twitter handle. resuscitate my career and play somewhere else?’ Or, ‘This is it.’ It ended (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) up that my body, it was done. I couldn’t do it anymore. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about that day, and what could have been. How did you end up with @Hdumpty39 as your Twitter handle? In 2013, you spoke about depression: What is your reaction to the news Ooh, that’s a good one. When Twitter started, it wasn’t something I was of Simone Biles in Tokyo, and the level of discourse around mental really interested in becoming too involved with. But I was kind of health in elite athletes all these years later? interested to see what other people were saying. I was like, “I’ll make a name up.” Me and my wife went back and forth. And I was like, “You My sister-in-law is a doctor who deals with mental health, and she’s really know, since I’ve been hurt all the time, let’s go with Humpty Dumpty.” I into the sports aspect of it. It’s something you take for granted. You break apart, they put me back together. It stuck. My first radio job was spend so much time training your body and doing your sports-specific with Alan Hahn. “Hahn and Humpty” sounded good together, so we kept stuff, that by the end of it, it was one of the things I struggled with the it. most. It wasn’t even the depression afterward when I was done. It was the anxiety leading up to playing games. I think a lot of athletes deal with Do you think you’ll ever change it back to your real name? that. I couldn’t even imagine now, to be honest. I see it during the radio, Probably not, naw. I think we’re too far along in the process now to with the stuff on Twitter. I couldn’t even imagine being Simone Biles. Men change it. and women — professional athletes — it’s a lot of pressure.

What would Rick DiPietro, the broadcast veteran, tell Rick DiPietro the Why do you think we — the sports-consuming public — still seem to first overall pick in 2000? have trouble showing sympathy to athletes who are open about their struggles? That’s a great question. I would say, “Be humble.” I would say, “The media is your friend.” I would say, “Don’t try to get to the third period of a Money and the fame is a big part of it, for sure. I think people who watch preseason game and blow your knee out.” I would probably give that sports want to see their favourite athletes compete. I think a lot of them advice. That was what kind of ended it for me. I think the biggest thing for say to themselves, ‘If you paid me all that money to play a sport for a me, having the chance to do this job now, is having the interaction with living, I wouldn’t allow something like that to stop me from doing it.’ But fans. In the moment, when you’re an athlete and you’re hurt all the time it’s not always apples to apples. They’re in a spot now where they can’t and you have high expectations for yourself, people are critical. But now, get away from it. If you choose to be active on social media or check your on the other side of it, I can understand it. social media … I know, toward the end of my career, there were guys who would go check their phones at intermission. There’s nowhere to run On July 1, actor Ryan Reynolds promoted a commercial starring Bobby from it. Bonilla, who was picking a bit of fun at “Bobby Bonilla Day”: Would you ever entertain a pitch like that if you were approached? How did you cope with the pressure?

No. I’ve been able to kind of sneak under the radar with that. I’d like to It was something I struggled with my entire career. I had a chance to keep it that way. work with some really good sport psychologists who helped. But it was the nervous energy the entire day. It was going over every play in my mind. It was not answering my phone. It was being on a schedule where I would eat at a certain time, and I would sleep at a certain time. Once the puck dropped, it would kind of subside. But it was tough, man. And I think a lot of athletes struggle with that.

What is your relationship like with hockey these days?

It’s getting better. Just because my son’s playing now, and I’m coaching. It wasn’t great for a while. Having my son now enjoy it, and realizing how much I love coaching. I had an opportunity to coach a high school team here on Long Island, Portledge. Last year was my second year doing it. Just to go back and watch kids that age, and how much they enjoy it. Even just the little things: Practising a set play off a faceoff, and then to see it actually happen in a game. Instantly, I fell back in love with it.

Do the kids ask you about your career, or are you just Coach Rick?

Listen, I’m an open book with them. Whatever they need to ask, whatever I can do to help, I’m always available.

Will you coach your son?

I’m coaching him now. We’ll see how that works. So far, it’s OK. You know how they are. You can tell them exactly what they should do, and they’ll say, ‘Yeah, OK.’ Then the coach will tell them to do it and they’ll do it: ‘Oh, this is great.’ And you’re like, ‘I just told you that.’

The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191270 New York Rangers

Former Rangers coach John Tortorella joins ESPN as studio analyst

By Jared Greenspan

August 3, 2021 | 4:35pm | Updated

ESPN has hired former Rangers coach John Tortorella to work as a studio analyst as a part of the network’s NHL coverage, The Post’s Andrew Marchand confirmed on Tuesday. Tortorella will begin his role during the upcoming season this fall.

Tortorella, 63, spent parts of six years leading the Blueshirts, first during the 1999-2000 season as an interim head coach during the season and then from 2009-2013. He compiled a 171-118-1-29 record and led the Rangers to four playoff appearances.

Tortorella most recently coached the Blue Jackets for six seasons. The two sides parted ways in May after Columbus posted an underwhelming 18-26-12 record in the shortened season.

John Tortorella has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 12 times as a head coach.

Tortorella boasts a 673-541-37-132 career coaching record with the Rangers, Lightning, Canucks and Blue Jackets over 22 seasons, leading Tampa Bay to a Stanley Cup title in 2004.

ESPN reacquired the rights to NHL broadcasts in March following a 17- year hiatus. Tortorella joins a growing list of analysts that will be a part of the network’s hockey coverage, including former Rangers captain Mark Messier and former netminder Kevin Weekes.

New York Post LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191271 New York Rangers

Rangers hire John Lilley to fill personnel and scouting positions

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinSNewsday

Updated August 3, 2021 5:24 PM

Rangers general manager still has a lot of holes to fill in the organization this summer, but he continues to check off boxes on his to- do list. On Tuesday, the Rangers announced that Drury has hired John Lilley as the team's director of player personnel and director of amateur scouting.

Lilley, who turned 49 on Tuesday, comes to the Rangers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, for whom he was director of amateur scouting. He had been with the Leafs since 2006, when he joined that organization as an amateur scout.

Lilley, from Wakefield, Massachusetts, played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1994 and played college hockey at Boston University, the same school where Drury played. The two did not play on the team at the same time (Lilley played at BU from 1991-93, while Drury was there from 1994-98). Lilley was drafted by the in 1990, and played parts of three seasons, between 1993 and 1996, with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

He played nine seasons of professional hockey, mostly in the minor leagues, with four seasons in the German league. In 23 career NHL games, Lilley, a forward, scored three goals and had eight assists.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191272 New York Rangers their younger wingers, then it’ll be all the more perplexing if another right winger is on the move later this offseason.

It’s possible that Blais exceeds expectations, but at its core, this trade Have the additions of Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais and Ryan Reaves downgraded in skill to add more grit at the time of the deal. Moves to made the Rangers better? Or worse? accomplish that goal should be secondary to those dealing with top players because skill is a necessity in the NHL — the top contenders, led by the Lightning these past two years, show as much. And asset management is essential to building a contender and extending that By Shayna Goldman window. Aug 3, 2021 Then came the acquisition of another physical winger — the position the Rangers already appeared to have covered with Blais and Goodrow depending on where he slots in the lineup. New York sent a third-round The Rangers’ offseason is likely far from over. But their start is shaky — pick to the for Ryan Reaves. and not because of what they haven’t done yet, but the direction they are taking with their moves so far. The additions of Reaves, as well as depth defender Jarred Tinordi as a free agent, both link to Gerard Gallant. It isn’t unusual for general The obvious changes to come are down the middle of the lineup. The top managers to add players that fit a coach’s style, nor is it for familiarity contenders in the league show the importance of center depth. Plus, the with players to influence dealings. But just how much the bench boss expiring contracts, and subsequently increasing costs, of leading centers gets involved in the process has been a point of contention in his Mika Zibanejad and point to the team switching up this previous NHL experiences, as sources pointed out at the time of his pivotal position. While the team was expected to address this before the hiring. draft, since 2021 selections were trade assets, deals can still be made later in the summer. “The issue is he believes he’s a talent evaluator and can/should shape how a roster is constructed,” a league source said. In some situations, like the Jack Eichel situation in Buffalo that gets messier by the day, waiting only helps other teams gain leverage. The “He’s a fantastic coach if you can keep awful players off your roster,” the Rangers’ list of centers likely starts with Eichel, but doesn’t have to end source added. there. Even if Gallant had his hand in these acquisitions, management So, the moves they have yet to make aren’t necessarily what stands out ultimately made these deals. And in Reaves’ case, it was the steep cost about their offseason. The problem is with what moves have been made of moving a third-round pick for a player that while appreciated during his and the shared direction of each. Vegas tenure, was a healthy scratch at points late in the season and during the playoffs. This team went into the offseason with the goal of becoming a tougher opponent. That can mean being a team that forechecks more The true value of a draft pick is tricky because there are no guarantees aggressively, battles harder for pucks and forces turnovers, and is overall with any picks, let alone a third-rounder. Still, that value isn’t equal given stronger on the puck to maintain possession. It can also mean becoming Reaves’ defensive impacts decreasing over the years, and his offensive more traditionally tough in the physical sense. Ideally, if a team aims for impact lacking. Not only is the asset management perplexing on the cost the latter, the former is considered as well. That’s the case for a couple of of acquisition, but so is an extension before he ever steps foot on the ice the Rangers’ offseason moves. But, the latter appears to be the driving in a Rangers’ sweater — a contract that is worth $1.75 million at 35 years force through some of their decision-making which is reactionary to how old, when the team is anticipating a cap crunch next summer. their regular season ended, and it’s become a focal point of their summer Via HockeyViz so far. Where he does make up for it, obviously, is in his physical play and With the addition of Barclay Goodrow, the Rangers became tougher in locker room presence for a team where leadership and culture were both both senses of the word. While he wasn’t the driver of the Lightning’s noted at the season’s end. Both are aspects management could have, third line that was such a challenge to face off against, he embodies both and maybe should have, addressed this offseason. senses of the word ‘tough’ and is coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. His defensive efforts and penalty killing should make him a fit in Adding some grit, inspired by Vegas’ style of play or the Lightning’s third New York, as does his ability to play both center and wing. line, can make sense as long as the team approaches it the right way and isn’t too hyper-focused on just that one aspect. But that’s been the But even with this addition, there’s still some questionable asset primary theme with most of the Rangers’ offseason moves to this point, management. with trade pieces, cap space, and roster slots being invested along the The biggest flaw from this move was paying for those two championships way. And while each addition (and subtraction) can be assessed with a six-year contract that likely won’t age well. The Athletic’s Dom individually as flawed, but not catastrophic, these moves didn’t happen in Luszczyszyn’s similarity score generator helps show that, pointing to a vacuum — they were made in tandem with each other. player comparables who faced declines in their games after their ‘similar’ Viz by Prashanth Iyer seasons to Goodrow. The team was already in a position to improve after they managed to Instead of looking under the radar for the ‘next’ Barclay Goodrow, Blake stay in the playoff conversation for much of the season despite facing Coleman, or Yanni Gourde, the Rangers signed a somewhat inflated numerous hurdles along the way. Between the hiring of Gerard Gallant, contract when cap space is so valuable, especially in a flat cap world. But who will bring a fast-paced system that ideally boosts their offensive even with that aside, because it’s just one player and just $3.6 million in generation, and the continued growth of their younger players, the cap space per year, the problem is that management didn’t stop there in Rangers are in a position to build on these last few “rebuilding” seasons. their quest for toughness and grit. Their offseason moves, to this point, aren’t necessarily going to stop that The Pavel Buchnevich trade may be the biggest misstep of all, moving progress, but could hamstring the potential they had just a few weeks him for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick. While Blais could become ago if there aren’t more changes to come. an effective member of the team, it was still an imbalanced trade — even more so when considering the extension Buchnevich signed in St. Louis, as the viz from Prashanth Iyer shows below. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 Viz by Prashanth Iyer

Buchnevich was coming off of a career year in which he became one of the Rangers’ best two-way players. But even if the team felt it necessary to move him — possibly due to the current cap environment — the return should have better reflected his value and the team’s needs. If it wasn’t solely due to his impending raise, and more so to give time and space to 1191273 Ottawa Senators Del Zotto has played at a variety of venues over the years but said he still gets more nervous about a potential set as a DJ compared to playing an NHL game.

Senators’ Michael Del Zotto on D.J. Smith, being a DJ himself and “With hockey, there’s been so much repetition for me, it’s just another playing with Artem Zub game. But as a DJ, I’m still working on my game,” he said. “I love playing at venues, but I haven’t done it enough where I could go into a venue and feel comfortable doing it without being worried about making a mistake and ruining everybody’s vibe.” By Ian Mendes During the 2016-17 season in Philadelphia, Del Zotto married his two Aug 3, 2021 passions by helping create the Flyers goal song for home games. In Vancouver, Del Zotto took over as the club’s unofficial dressing room DJ, curating playlists to help fire up his teammates before games. He’ll likely It’s been almost a decade, but Michael Del Zotto is convinced the Ottawa be afforded that same luxury in Ottawa, where he will step into the room Senators cost his New York Rangers team a Stanley Cup championship. as one of only four players on the roster over the age of 30.

In the spring of 2012, Del Zotto’s No. 1 seeded Rangers were pushed to “I’m really excited to get to join that. I don’t want to overstep on any toes, the brink against an upstart Ottawa team in the first round of the playoffs. but I also want to have a loud voice there and help out any way I can,” And while the Rangers eventually prevailed with a nail-biting 2-1 victory said Del Zotto. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the group of in the decisive Game 7, the defenceman believes the Rangers ran out of guys in there. How close of a group they are and that the team culture gas by the time they faced the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern and camaraderie is incredible.” Conference finals. Del Zotto has a relationship with Connor Brown, as they often train “That hurt us going on for the rest of the playoffs. Going seven with that together in the summertime in the Toronto area. He said he received text team took a lot out of us,” Del Zotto told The Athletic. “Playing seven messages from Austin Watson and Brady Tkachuk welcoming him into games against a physical team does not feel great on the body when the fold, but when he rolls into training camp in September he’ll be you’re expected to play a few series after that.” meeting a lot of teammates for the first time.

Now as the current edition of the Senators tries to carve out an identity of One player he acknowledges he knows very little about is Artem Zub, being a physical and nasty opponent, Del Zotto is more than happy to put who could very well end up being Del Zotto’s defence partner to start the on their jersey after signing a two-year contract with Ottawa last week. season. The 31-year-old said that D.J. Smith has a lot in common with his Rangers head coach John Tortorella. “I’ve seen him play a little bit, but with him being a potential partner, I’m jumping in to start doing my research on him,” Del Zotto said. “I’ll get “There are similarities between him and D.J. They’re a little bit different, some game tape and see what his strengths are and see how we could but they coach the same way where they expect your best effort every potentially work together to get good chemistry right away.” single night,” explained Del Zotto. “I love the way D.J. coaches. The jam that they play with and a little bit of an old-school mentality — which I’m Zub is seemingly locked into a top-four spot on Ottawa’s right side while also going to bring.” Del Zotto’s exact slotting remains a mystery, even to him.

Del Zotto was reunited with Tortorella in Columbus last season after the “I have no idea, you never know what will happen,” said Del Zotto. Blue Jackets brought him into training camp on a PTO. He became a “There’s not really a way to answer it right now, because so many things fixture in the Blue Jackets’ lineup, logging nearly 18 minutes of ice time happen throughout the season. There’s injuries and performance that on a nightly basis. But once Tortorella and the Blue Jackets parted ways, obviously goes into it. You may be slotted somewhere, but you can Del Zotto figured the writing was on the wall with his time in Columbus. outperform another player. The depth chart can move pretty drastically throughout the season, it doesn’t take that long.” And so he immediately started researching potential landing spots for next season. Whereas last offseason’s free agency period was mentally Over the past five seasons, Del Zotto has played with a handful of taxing and only culminated with Del Zotto being offered a PTO in partners on several different clubs. Via Natural Stat Trick, here are some Columbus, he called this year’s process “pleasant and stress-free.” He of Del Zotto’s underlying numbers with his most common partners since felt confident in his ability to land a seat in the free agency game of the 2016-17 season: musical chairs and said he had four offers to consider before ultimately As highlighted above, his time with Cam Fowler in Anaheim was very choosing Ottawa. successful and Del Zotto said he felt “phenomenal” on the ice when “I did my due diligence on every single team. I take pride in my those two were partnered together with the Ducks. Del Zotto reiterated homework and I knew what teams needed defence,” said Del Zotto. “I that he could play the right side on defence if the situation warrants, an knew what teams needed left shot defence, power play help, penalty kill element of flexibility that may enhance his value. He no longer sees help, veteran leadership and Ottawa was high on my list. It was nice to himself the way many still view him, as a flashy, offensive defenceman know they felt the same about me.” who broke into the NHL with the Rangers. In his rookie season, Del Zotto racked up 18 power play assists as a 19-year-old. What helped seal the deal with the Senators was a conference call shortly after the free agency period opened on July 28. Del Zotto listened By his third season in 2011-12, he produced 10 goals and 41 points in a to an aggressive pitch from Smith, Senators general manager Pierre season which actually saw him garner three top-five votes for the Norris Dorion and newly appointed senior VP of player development Pierre Trophy. But since then, Del Zotto believes he has morphed into a more McGuire. On numerous occasions, Del Zotto described that conversation well-rounded defender. as “very comfortable” and a couple of hours later, he was putting pen to “I think what I can bring is versatility. I can play the left side. I can play paper on a two-year, $4 million deal. the right side,” said Del Zotto. “Coming into the league, I was an “As I’ve gotten older, what I’ve realized is there truly aren’t too many offensive guy and then I’ve transitioned into an all-around defenceman. I people who really want to do their homework and do the long hours of can play penalty kill, three-on-three, four-on-four, whatever situation scouting and understanding the player and the true person. But they did arises, I’m ready for that opportunity.” that with me,” said Del Zotto. ”They did their research on who I am as a Del Zotto is quick to credit Tortorella for his on-ice maturation, believing human being and that was flattering.” the five seasons he played under him is a major factor why he has Part of the Senators’ research would have certainly uncovered Del appeared in more than 700 NHL games. Zotto’s passion for music and his side hobby as a DJ. While Mika “I learned the hard way with him, there’s more to being a defenceman Zibanejad took some flack in this market for having the same interest a than just putting up points,” Del Zotto said of Tortorella. “He taught me few years ago, Del Zotto is not hiding his passion for music. how to block shots and how to really play defence. So I really have him to “It’s therapeutic for me,” said Del Zotto. “Practice makes perfect and I thank for turning me into the all-around defenceman I am today.” learned on YouTube. I bought my own turntables and learned that way. Del Zotto may get a few touches on the Senators’ second-unit power I’ve gone in studio numerous times with DJs to learn from them.” play, but it’s likely that Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom will receive the majority of the ice time when the Senators have a man advantage. Over the past few seasons, it’s been clear that his power play and penalty kill ice times have traded places, a trend that is likely to continue in Ottawa this season.

In 2017-18 with the Canucks, Del Zotto had a season in which he recorded 244 hits and 127 blocked shots. Over the past decade, only 13 defencemen have had a season in which they reached the 200-hit, 100- blocked shot plateau. Since the NHL started officially tracking those stats in 2007-08, the Senators have never had a defenceman record 200 hits and 100 blocked shots in the same season. (For the record, Anton Volchenkov did have 209 blocked shots and 153 hits for the Senators in 2007-08.)

If you’re skeptical about Del Zotto’s ability to play a more physical and demanding role than his reputation may suggest, you merely need to look at his body for evidence. He estimated he’s received more than 200 stitches since breaking into the NHL, some the result of shot blocking, others the result of bad luck.

When he broke into the league with the Rangers, Del Zotto got awkwardly tangled up in the end boards with Evgeni Malkin, whose skate blade inadvertently sliced a gash on the left side of his chest that required 50 stitches inside the visitor’s dressing room at Mellon Arena.

“To this day, you can still see it because it was so thick and the skate went right to my ribs. It looks pretty gnarly,” said Del Zotto. “Whenever I’m at the beach or somewhere with my shirt off, I tell people it’s a shark bite. It’s a pretty good line and it’s always funny to see people’s reaction to it.”

Given the style and attitude Smith wants to employ with the Senators this season, it’s fair to assume Del Zotto will be adding to that collection of stitches during his time in Ottawa.

“I give everything I have every single night and I know that Senators fans will appreciate that,” said Del Zotto. “It’s a guarantee from me that every single night, they’re going to get everything that I have.”

The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191274 Philadelphia Flyers 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 How the rebuilt Flyers might look after their flurry of summer moves | On big shot. Were his frequent defensive miscues in Buffalo a product of the Fly having several different partners? We will find out.

Defense 3: Keith Yandle and Justin Braun

Sam Carchidi Comment: Two veterans who have been around the block. Yandle will provide the offense, Braun will provide steady defense and shot-blocking. Cam York could beat out Yandle with a strong training camp, but the Flyers give the impression they want York to gain some experience with Well, that was fun. the Phantoms. Yandle has a good chance to run the top power-play unit. In a flurry of trades and free-agent signings that was more exciting than The seventh defenseman? Samuel Morin and recently signed right- their regular-season play, the Flyers will have a new look in 2021-22. hander Adam Clendening — a second-round pick in 2011 who has 80 General manager , the architect of the much-needed NHL games on his resume — are among the candidates. summer remake, said he’s not sure if he will make another move. Even if Goaltending: Hart is the starter, with Martin Jones as the backup. he doesn’t — Fletcher said his focus now is on re-signing restricted free agents and Travis Sanheim — he deserves credit for making Comment: Hart should benefit from all the defensive changes and the coming season interesting. bounce back from a disastrous season. Jones, signed as a free agent, is his backup, but he seems to be trending in the wrong direction. That The Flyers, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975, and New Jersey makes a Hart comeback the Flyers’ most critical story line. Devils are probably the most improved teams in the highly competitive . Welcome back

Probable lineup Former Flyers defenseman Jason Smith, 47, has made a long journey back to the organization. He was named a Phantoms assistant Monday The Flyers will be harder to play against this coming season. They added on coach Ian Laperriere’s staff. several players who play with physicality and an edge. Smith played one of his 15 NHL seasons with the Flyers, in 2007-08, That was much-needed, especially in a division that will probably feature when he served as the team’s 16th captain and helped lead them to the the feisty New York Islanders. Eastern Conference finals. But the Flyers still lack speed, and their offense won’t be much better He joins the Phantoms after he spent parts of four seasons in the unless they get improved play from a handful of players who slumped . He was an associate coach of the Prince last season. Their defense, however, appears much stronger than last George Cougars from 2019-21 and was the head coach of the Kelowna season, thanks to the addition of veterans Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Rockets for parts of three seasons. Ristolainen, and Keith Yandle. Before his time in the WHL, Smith was with the Ottawa Senators The goaltending? There are questions that need to be answered. (More organization from 2012-16. He was named scouting and development later.) consultant for Ottawa before the 2012-13 season and was named an Here is a look at how the team could be set up: assistant coach of the Senators before the 2014-15 season.

Line 1: Sean Couturier centering Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson Riley Armstrong, 36, former head coach of the ECHL’s , was also named a Phantoms assistant. Comment: Atkinson might end up on a line with former Boston College teammate Kevin Hayes, but he has a shoot-first mentality and would benefit from the passing of Giroux and Couturier. Atkinson, 32, had 41 Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.04.2021 goals in the last full NHL season, 2018-19. The Flyers would gladly settle for 25 to 30.

Line 2: Hayes centering Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny

Comment: Hayes played injured for part of last season — he had core- 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 rebound. The Flyers also need Konecny (11 goals) to bounce back. Farabee is coming off a breakthrough season (team-high 20 goals).

Line 3: Scott Laughton centering James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison

Comment: Allison showed lots of promise (4 goals, 3 assists) in his 14 games with the Flyers last season and is a prototypical power forward. 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 damage in front.

Line 4: Morgan Frost or Nate Thompson centering Oskar Lindblom and Nic Aube-Kubel

Comment: By signing the 6-foot-1, 207-pound Thompson, it appears the Flyers will use him because of his penalty-killing ability and his size. That means he will likely center the fourth line unless Frost, who is coming off shoulder surgery, excels at training camp. Tanner Laczynski is also a 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

Comment: The Flyers hope the well-rounded Ellis stabilizes Provorov’s 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. 1191275 Philadelphia Flyers flashes of marvelous play from Wentz and Simmons. At your most optimistic, you could evaluate Patrick or Bohm with a Well, let’s wait and see how he develops. At worst, you looked at Fultz and Moniak and saw they didn’t have a chance. Carson Wentz, Ben Simmons, Mickey Moniak, more: This is Philly’s era of missed opportunity Three of them — Wentz, Fultz, and Patrick — are already gone. Another, 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 Mike Sielski likelihood, do so in spite of these players’ presences and contributions, not because of them. The next time someone asks why Philadelphia sports fans so often keep their eyes to the sky for the plummeting anvil, The only person who has prevented this last half-decade of Philadelphia refer him or her to the ‘16-18 drafts. Then fire up YouTube, grab a pint of sports from being a catastrophic failure — of high expectations unmet, of butter pecan or a tall glass of something strong, and settle in for a good, patience unrewarded, of promises unkept — is Nick Foles. An long, sentimental weepfest. overstatement? Of course. But the more that the Eagles’ victory in Super Bowl LII recedes into the distance of history and memory, the more that the years since seem a cosmic measure of comeuppance for the city’s Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.04.2021 sports fans, a cruel karmic joke punishing them for experiencing something so refreshing, so joyous, so fleeting.

Yes, you can have your sports miracle, Philadelphia. You can have the backup quarterback/all-around swell guy win you your first Super Bowl … 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.

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 Indianapolis Colts. 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.

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 1191276 Pittsburgh Penguins opened the path for us. Our goal for the next Black athletes that come into pro leagues is to do the same thing as he did.”

The Joseph family has made some inroads toward that goal. A member Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph hopes others will follow him of the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in 2020 and this year, Mathieu is one of the relatively few Black players to have his name inscribed on the trophy.

SETH RORABAUGH “It’s a huge achievement for him,” P.O Joseph said. “I was able to get to Tampa in time to watch a game. To see him raise the Cup at the end of Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 9:05 p.m. the year was priceless. I would have done it if it was in Australia.

“There’s not a lot of Black names on this Cup. Hopefully, the future will Growing up in Quebec during the 2010s, Pittsburgh Penguins bring more and more diversity on this Cup.” defenseman P.O Joseph’s choice for an idol was obvious. P.O. Joseph would like to add his name to the Stanley Cup. But first, he P.K. Subban. has to break through as a full-time NHL-er. Last season, he made his NHL debut, appearing in 16 games and scoring five points (one goal, four A tall, lanky and dynamic blue-liner who had an effervescent personality assists). that could light up a nuclear submarine, Subban was a star countless Quebecois youth gravitated to during his tenure as a member of the Despite being one of the organization’s top prospects, the path to a Montreal Canadiens. regular-roster spot isn’t wide open for Joseph because of the Penguins having a surplus of NHL-caliber left-handed defensemen. Beyond those attributes, Subban was appealing to Joseph for another reason. “When you get a little taste of something good, you want more,” Joseph said. “I for sure want to stay with this team for the rest of the year and the He looked like him. next couple of years as well. I know it’s not easy. There’s a lot of great players there. I’ve just got to get ready for camp and show the best A Black man in a sport that is overwhelmingly white, Subban was a version of yourself.” beacon of hope for Joseph, the son of a Haitian immigrant. In some respects, he already has. “I’ve always looked up to Black athletes (as a kid),” said Joseph, now 22. “Growing up in Montreal, when P.K. was there, I was looking up to him “My goal is to make an impact on the ice but also off the ice,” Joseph for a while.” said. “Little stuff like that will make a great impact on the community. I feel like it’s our job, too, as professional athletes, to show the young kids On Tuesday, Joseph served as a guest instructor for the Penguins’ Willie and the next generation that everybody can reach their dream.” O’Ree Academy, an initiative that offers guidance for Black youth players in the Pittsburgh area.

Joseph flew in from Quebec on Tuesday, arriving at 1 a.m. to participate Tribune Review LOADED: 08.04.2021 in the academy in Cranberry. He was scheduled to fly home Wednesday at 6 a.m.

The reason he parachuted in was vivid: “I hope I can be their P.K. Subban one day.”

While youth hockey in Quebec is considerably different than in Pittsburgh, Joseph shared a very common connection with those he interacted with Tuesday.

“Their faces meant everything to me,” Joseph said. “Their eyes got big, the smiles on everyone’s face. How can you not be happy to be there with these kids and have some fun for an hour? Questions on where are you from, how was it growing up, stuff like that. It’s easy for me to talk to them about stuff like that and give them advice on how to react about negative stuff that will happen on the ice, off the ice, stuff like that.”

Joseph encountered the sad reality of racism as a youth. But he and his brother, Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph, found ways to insulate themselves from the blight of bigotry.

“We really didn’t care about that kind of stuff growing up,” P.O Joseph said. “You know it’s going to come here and there on the ice, off the ice. It was cool at the rink, watching games and all. Really, we just surrounded ourselves with great people that didn’t care about our skin color. We didn’t really have that (many) problems growing up. I felt like our family would protect ourselves from stuff like that. We just think that people that think that of Black people are ignorant people.

“And we don’t really have time for that.”

The academy is named in recognition of former Boston Bruins forward Willie O’Ree. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, O’Ree was the first Black player in NHL history, making his debut in January of 1958.

Despite being separated by a chasm of generations, O’Ree’s name resonates with Joseph.

“Every time I ask someone if (they know) Willie O’Ree, and their answer is no, I try to teach them a little bit about him,” Joseph said. “He means so much for us as far as being able to play in this league. Being the first is never easy. In baseball, Jackie Robinson, (it) wasn’t easy. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Willie back then too, having the slurs at him and stuff like that. It was new for the world to have Black players in the NHL. He just 1191277 Pittsburgh Penguins

PPG Paints Arena recommends masks, starting with tonight's James Taylor concert

JOANNE KLIMOVICH HARROP

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 3:26 p.m.

PPG Paints Arena announced it will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s masking recommendations – beginning with tonight’s James Taylor concert.

Taylor is scheduled to take the stage after Jackson Browne opens at 7:30 p.m.

James Taylor, shown here in 2018, will perform Aug. 3 at PPG Paints Arena.

“Out of an abundance of caution with Allegheny County reaching the designated threshold of new cases, PPG Paints Arena will begin following guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending that all guests entering the arena wear masks,” Tim McNulty, vice president of public affairs for the Pittsburgh Penguins, said in a statement.

He said the arena has experience in safely operating under the constraints of the pandemic during Pittsburgh Penguins games.

Officials will continue to work with UPMC and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to “follow all public health guidelines set by federal, state and local authorities to keep arena visitors, workers, players and performers safe, just as the team did during the return of fans to games this spring.”

“With the help of our partners and especially our fans, we were able to welcome thousands safely back into PPG Paints Arena this spring, and we were able to implement protocols to open at full capacity with masks this June,” said Gary Desjardins, general manager at PPG Paints Arena/ASM Global. “All the precautions we put in place — from paperless ticketing to cashless transactions and thorough cleaning and air quality controls — are still in effect for tonight’s concert and all events going forward.”

Last week, the CDC recommended that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where coronavirus cases are surging.

The announcement comes as Western Pennsylvania counties — including Allegheny County — have recently experienced “substantial” covid-19 transmission, according to the CDC.

The James Taylor concert had already been rescheduled from last year.

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Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Radim Zohorna

SETH RORABAUGH

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 12:17 p.m.

In eight games last season, Penguins forward Radim Zohorna had four points (two goals, two assists).

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed restricted free agent forward Radim Zohorna to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $750,000, the league minimum.

Per a release from the team, the contract is a two-way deal for the 2021- 22 season and one-way for the 2022-23 campaign.

As a rookie in 2020-21, Zohorna appeared in eight NHL games and scored four points (two goals, two assists).

Undrafted, the Czech native initially joined the Penguins by signing a one-year entry-level contract worth $792,500 in April of 2020.

Zohorna, 25, played his first career games in North America with Wilkes- Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League during the 2020-21 campaign. In 12 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he had 11 points (three goals, eight assists).

The largest player in the organization at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Zohorna is a candidate to claim a role among the Penguins’ bottom-six forwards.

With Zohorna signed, the Penguins’ only remaining unsigned restricted free agent is forward Zach Aston-Reese.

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191279 Pittsburgh Penguins Polamalu is one of two Bettis teammates scheduled to be inducted this weekend. One of the men who blocked for Bettis for many of his years in Pittsburgh, guard Alan Faneca, is also slated to be enshrined. So is Bettis’ former coach Bill Cowher. First Call: Steelers have '1% chance' to win Super Bowl; Chase Claypool's bold prediction; Fleury's nudge to join Blackhawks Bettis didn’t indicate how long he has known that he has been positive or if he’s holding out hope to attend the ceremonies in person.

Polamalu also hasn’t tweeted anything since his announcement Friday TIM BENZ evening.

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 6:19 a.m. Now it’s official

If you didn’t believe it Sunday, I guess you have to now.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin speaks to the defensive back during Marc-Andre Fleury made it official Monday. The former Penguins goalie camp July 28 at Heinz Field. donned a Chicago Blackhawks jersey to consummate his trade from the Vegas Golden Knights. Tuesday’s “First Call” shows us that one national outlet isn’t painting a pretty picture for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl chances. Somehow Vegas’ version of Black and Gold looked more fitting than that, didn’t it? Coronavirus is getting in the way of the Steelers’ takeover of Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions this weekend. Marc-Andre So how did Fleury go from potentially not reporting to Chicago at all to Fleury looks strange in red. Adam Frazier is off to a rocky start in his new suddenly throwing a big red jersey on his back? city, while other ex-Pirates are adjusting a bit better. Apparently, Blackhawks team captain Jonathan Toews gave Fleury a And Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is calling his shot. gentle nudge.

So you’re sayin’ there’s … a chance? “Once we traded for him, I think in particular Jonathan had some experience with Marc-André from the Olympics in 2010,” general Pro Football Focus came up with its pre-season power rankings. manager Stan Bowman said Monday via the Chicago Tribune. “I think it The AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs are ranked No. 1 with a 14% was really just sort of a reach-out to say, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you chance of winning the Super Bowl. The defending Super Bowl champion here.’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers are actually second. But they are given the best “I understood what he was going through. It would be difficult for any of chance of winning it all at 15%. us to jump right into this new world. You need a little time to let it Where are the Steelers? Down at 13th. That’s not too extreme. They are breathe.” the seventh-rated AFC team. So that’s still qualifying for the playoffs. But The Tribune’s Paul Sullivan writes that Fleury is expected to meet with they are given just a 1% chance of winning the Super Bowl. the media Wednesday. Don’t be too offended. The way PFF’s projection system works, 16 teams Slow start — half the league — were given a 1% chance (or less) to win the Super Bowl. The San Diego Padres had a day off Monday. And former Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier needed it. Shot caller He’s only 4-for-24 (.167) in six games since the Pirates traded him out Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool scored 11 touchdowns in his west. rookie season of 2020. He thinks more are on the way in his sophomore campaign. Frazier also has only one walk and one extra-base hit. When Frazier was dealt from the Pirates, his batting average was .324. Now it sits at .315. The Steelers sent this tweet over the weekend. His OPS is down from .836 to .812. When Claypool swung by the NFL Network interview tent at Heinz Field Meanwhile, Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Rich Rodriguez didn’t yield a run on Monday, he had a very precise answer. in either of his appearances since he arrived from the Pirates. Clay Fourteen touchdowns in 2021. That was his prediction for Andrew Holmes also has yet to allow a run in his first 3⅔ innings with the New Siciliano and Aditi Kinkhabwala. York Yankees.

The former Notre Dame pass catcher also had a tiered prediction as to Tyler Anderson had three strikeouts against the over 5⅓ where he’ll fall in the NFL Network’s Top 100, stating that he’d be happy innings, allowing three runs on six hits in his Seattle Mariners debut with a top 60-65 ranking this season. Claypool said his goal is to get into Saturday. The Rangers ended up winning 5-4 as Anderson got a no- the top 10, but he “could see himself in the top 20.” decision.

Hey, so long as he’s actually talking about football rankings and not As for some other former Buccos who left the Pirates long before this TikTok views, I consider that a step in the right direction. year’s trade deadline, Jameson Taillon was just named American League Pitcher of the Month after his efforts in July for the . Covid cramps Canton plans Jameson Taillon has been named the AL Pitcher of the Month in July! We already knew that Steelers Hall of Fame inductee Troy Polamalu was dealing with a positive covid-19 test in advance of this weekend’s ceremonies in Canton, Ohio. Tribune Review LOADED: 08.04.2021 Now it appears that a previously inducted Steelers Hall of Famer is also potentially on the shelf for the ceremonies.

It’s Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. “The Bus” made the announcement Monday afternoon on Twitter.

Part 1: It is important for me to let you all know that I recently tested positive for COVID-19. I’m currently in isolation at home. Fortunately, I am blessed that my symptoms are very mild because I am vaccinated.

Part2: I highly encourage everyone to continue to wear masks, practice social distancing, and get vaccinated. We are not in the clear and need to continue to do our part to keep one another safe 1191280 Pittsburgh Penguins think he is going to help us on the penalty kill. We think there is another dimension there offensively that we can tap into. He is a really stable 200-foot player that plays on both sides of the puck. He is a guy that plays inside so he gets to the net front. Mike Sullivan on coaching Team USA, facing and Evgeni Malkin, belief in Penguins goalies and revamping the bottom 6 “Danton Heinen is another guy that is going to give us some added depth as well. He has the ability to play up and down the lineup. He has got good offensive instincts. He could potentially score 15-20 goals for us.”

TIM BENZ Heinen’s career-high with Boston was 16 in 2017-18. Sullivan also referenced Evan Rodrigues, Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna as Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021 6:01 a.m. players currently with the franchise who could take on bigger roles next season.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan on the bench against the Flyers on • On his approach to training camp knowing that Evgeni Malkin will be March 3 at PPG Paints Arena. injured to start the season: “That’s why the depth is so important. There were times last year when we didn’t have him and guys moved up and Mike Sullivan rattled off the names as if he was reciting his current filled roles. In some ways, that galvanizes a team. I believe that’s what Penguins roster. we went through last year as a group.”

However, it was a roster from 41 years ago. And it wasn’t the Penguins. • On the notion of starting 2021-22 with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith as the goaltenders: “I think these guys are real good goaltenders. Tristan “Mike Eruzione. Jim Craig. Jack O’Callahan. David Silk,” Sullivan said. Jarry is a really good young goaltender. There were times last year when “Those were the four guys from BU (Boston University) where I ended up our goaltending tandem was one of the best in the league. It’s going to college. Those were guys I looked up to as a kid. They were unfortunate that Casey was hurt during the course of the playoffs. But the such great players.” tandem that we had are really quality goaltenders and we believe in And there were many more from that 1980 Team USA Olympic ice these guys. hockey squad that the Penguins coach could have recited during an “It’s a tall task to backstop a team when the stakes are high. I believe interview with Mark Madden on 105.9 The X Monday. Tristan is only going to get better through that difficult experience (losing Last week, Sullivan was named head coach of the American team that to the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2021 playoffs). We will go to Beijing for the 2022 Olympics. The Boston native was 12 years learn way more from our failures than our successes. And I don’t think old when he watched the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice” crew shock its way Tristan is any different. He’s a high-character kid. He’s going to learn to an American victory in Lake Placid. from the experience. And he is only going to get better.”

“I was involved with a local hockey team that traveled a fair amount,” Sullivan said during the interview. “And all I remember of that whole Tribune Review LOADED: 08.04.2021 experience was every time we were in a rink, we were trying to find a TV. In the pro shop. In the lobby of the rink. Just to try to check in on the team and how they were doing. … So I was around my own peers and my own teammates playing the game that I love when that whole experience was taking place.”

Now Sullivan is going to be tasked with attempting to get America’s first gold medal in the sport since that historic tournament.

“It’s quite an honor to have this opportunity. I’m really excited about it,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of really good American-born coaches out there. So the fact that they have entrusted me with this great responsibility is humbling. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”

If NHL players are allowed to participate in the games — and that’s still not a guarantee as squabbles over expanded media rights deals continue — Sullivan will also likely be in the tricky position of coaching against some of his star players, such as Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Evgeni Malkin (Russia).

“It’s strange when (Crosby) is on the other side, or Geno is on the other side,” Sullivan replied. “I have so much respect for those guys and how good they are. It will be a big challenge for us, that’s for sure.”

When it comes to building an American roster, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman, USA Hockey’s and former Penguin Bill Guerin (now general manager of the Minnesota Wild) will be part of the team aiding Sullivan. And he thinks a lot of the heavy lifting will be done during the next few months.

“We’ll have a lot of preliminary discussion between now and when training camps start,” Sullivan said. “I think that will be very helpful so that when the NHL season does start, all of us are going to be so invested in our respective NHL teams that it will be difficult to find the time to dedicate to it. But we’ll find windows of opportunity.”

Sullivan and Madden also discussed some Penguins-related matters.

• On the franchise’s decision to avoid making any major free agent signings or trades: “We didn’t have to go out and have to replace the top of our lineup. That is a very difficult challenge. It is also a costly challenge. We’ve been so fortunate to have the core group of players that we have in Pittsburgh that make up those critical positions for us. The top end of our lineup is consistent, and it is strong.”

• On new players who will be replacing departed forwards Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann: “Brock McGinn is a real quality player. We 1191281 Pittsburgh Penguins “Remember Tristan Jarry got us a division title last year,” Burke said. “He was spectacular. He faltered a bit in the playoffs. Go back and look at Marc-Andre Fleury’s first two playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury was mediocre at best his first couple playoffs. That’s what happens with young Will the Penguins still explore upgrades in goal? Brian Burke says goaltenders. ‘maybe,’ with one key caveat “But it wasn’t like, ‘Oh boy, we need a new goaltender.’ It was like, ‘OK, that’s the learning curve.’ Tristan is 6-2. He’s athletic. He’s got amnesia, which is an important trait for a goalie. He’s a great kid. He works hard. Mike DeFabo We think we’re set at the goaltending position.” 7-9 minutes 8/3/2021 As of now, the Penguins will roll into the season with the same coach, same core (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang), all six of the top forwards, five of the top six defensemen and the same two goalies. The Penguins roster saw several shake ups over the last two weeks, as the club said goodbye to forwards Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev While questions in the crease may linger into the season, the moves and hello to a handful of low-cost reinforcements who will add depth to fortified the back end of the forward corps and should set up some tight the bottom-six. position battles. The two most notable additions are McGinn and Heinen.

But as the dust settles after the NHL’s free agency frenzy, the biggest McGinn, who signed a four-year deal with a $2.75 million average annual news isn’t necessarily what the Penguins did with their limited salary cap value, will replace some of what the Penguins lost when Seattle selected space. It's what they didn't do. Tanev. The new winger isn’t quite as physical in terms of the sheer volume of hits. But he’s bigger, about two years younger and about At a time when numerous noteworthy netminders flew off the board in $750,000 less expensive per season. free agency and another one (Darcy Kuemper) changed hands in a trade, the cap-constrained Penguins stood pat in net. General manager “We know we’re going to miss the energy that Brandon Tanev brings,” Ron Hextall then backed his backstops when he told reporters the Burke said. “This guy [McGinn] brings some energy, too. And he’s bigger. Penguins anticipate both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith will be on the We think he can do more damage when he hits.” roster when the puck drops on the 2021-22 season. Meanwhile, Heinen is a versatile forward. He has a 47-point season on “We’re really happy with our goaltending,” Penguins president of hockey his resume during his first full season with Boston in 2017-18. While his operations Brian Burke told the Post-Gazette. “Do we want to have a production tailed off during his recent stint in Anaheim, he should be in solution with a more-experienced guy if we hit a rut? The answer is the conversation as a third- or fourth-liner on a low-cost, $1.1 million maybe.” deal.

Burke then added one key caveat … “Danton Heinen is a guy early in his career who showed great promise,” Burke said. “Really good skater. Really good kid. Good penalty killer.” “Depending on the cost,” he continued. The Penguins also signed Evan Rodrigues to a one year, $1 million That last part is significant. The Penguins entered free agency with only contract. Dominik Simon rejoined the club on a two-way deal that carries about $7.44 million in salary cap space, several glaring holes on the a $750,000 cap hit at the NHL level. depth chart and a strong desire to hang onto as many future picks as possible. Some younger Penguins might also factor into this discussion in the bottom six. Burke said he anticipates 21-year-old prospect Filip After signing a handful of bargain-rate, role-playing wingers — most Hallander, who was acquired in the McCann trade, is “ready to play or notably Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen — CapFriendly estimates the close to it.” The 2019 early-round draft picks, Samuel Poulin and Nathan Penguins have around $2 million to work with before they bump against Legare, are also getting closer to making an impact, even though they the $81.5 million upper limit. are both likely to start the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Even that number is somewhat deceiving. The Penguins still have to sign “They’re going to get a chance in camp to see what they can do,” Burke forward Zach Aston-Reese, who has filed for arbitration. They also may said. “But my expectation is I’ll be watching them play in Wilkes-Barre look for a replacement for right-shot defenseman Cody Ceci on the blue before I see them play in Pittsburgh.” line if they don't hand the keys to Mark Friedman or Chad Ruhwedel on a full-time basis. Beyond the goalie, another question was if the Penguins might begin to evolve their roster to get bigger and more physical. Burke said he and All those factors played a role when it came time to choose which holes Hextall remain “committed to getting bigger, but we didn’t address that to fill and how much to spend. particular part of it because it didn’t present itself at a reasonable price.”

“It means [during free agency] you’ve got to shop at K-Mart and not at At times, this philosophical approach might appear to be contrary to the Nordstrom,” Burke said. “If you have cap room, you can take major steps. style of hockey coach Mike Sullivan wants to play. However, Burke We’re really happy with the guys we brought in. We really are. You can pushed back on that notion. He said Sullivan is actively involved in all still get some bloody good deals at K-Mart. We think we did. personnel decisions and the goal remains to find players that fit the vision of the entire organization. “But the fact of the matter is, people are like, ‘What about this guy? What about that guy?’ Come on, man. You’ve got to have the money in your “I learned early on as GM, if you bring in players the coach doesn’t like, wallet.” you’re dead,” Burke said. “If you bring in a player your coach hates, the experiment will fail. It’s 100%. We bring Sully in on every discussion.” Around the league, several teams had the salary cap space and the need to make moves in net. In Toronto, Petr Mrazek inked a three-year deal Only time will tell if — or when — those discussions might circle back to with a $3.8 million average annual value. In Seattle, Vezina Trophy the crease. finalist Philipp Grubauer signed a six-year deal that carries a $5.9 million average annual value. Frederik Andersen, after the worst statistical year of his career, earned a two-year deal with a $4.5 million average annual Post Gazette LOADED: 08.04.2021 value in Carolina. Linus Ullmark signed a four-year-deal with a $5 million average annual value in Boston.

Those are just some of the bigger names with price tags bigger than Jarry’s $3.5 million average annual value.

“Starting goaltenders went for a fortune,” Burke said.

In addition to the cost involved, the Penguins also took a step back to examine Jarry’s entire body of work during the 2020-21 season, his age and his career trajectory. Ultimately, Hextall and Burke decided the limited cap space would be better used elsewhere. 1191282 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins re-sign Radim Zohorna to two-year deal

Matt Vensel

2-2 minutes 8/3/2021

The Penguins on Tuesday announced they have re-signed forward Radim Zohorna. The two-year contract is a two-way deal in 2021-22 and converts to a one-way in 2022-23. It has an average annual value of $750,000 at the NHL level.

“Radim impressed us last season with his ability to transition to the smaller ice surface quickly and adapt his game,” Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said in a statement released by the team. “He is a power forward with a lot of potential and we are excited to watch him continue to grow as a player.”

The 25-year-old native of the Czech Republic was signed by former Penguins GM Jim Rutherford last year. Zohorna split time among the NHL club, the taxi squad and their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Zohorna, who can play center or on the wing, had two goals and two assists in eight NHL games last season. He scored on his first career shot on March 25. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds and for such a large human has displayed deft touch and decent skating, giving the Penguins hope he will stick in the NHL.

Last week, the Penguins offered Zohorna a qualifying offer to retain his rights and make him a restricted free agent. Zach Aston-Reese is now Pittsburgh’s lone unsigned RFA. Two days ago, Aston-Reese filed for salary arbitration.

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Penguins, P.O. Joseph Extend Opportunity to Black Players with O’Ree Academy

Published 10 hours ago on August 3, 2021

By Dan Kingerski

A tweet is easy. A hashtag morality costs nothing and requires nothing of its sender but obedience to the cause celeb. The Pittsburgh Penguins and their corporate partner Dicks Sportings Goods are also walking the walk with a hockey program for black youth players in the Pittsburgh area as part of the Willie O’Ree Academy presented by Dicks.

For such a worthwhile endeavor, we’ve printed the name of the corporate sponsor.

Tuesday night, the Penguins gave the players at the UPMC Lemieux Complex a special treat. Unannounced beforehand, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O. Joseph was their guest instructor. The Penguins informed Pittsburgh Hockey Now and all media outlets of the appearance but asked outlets not to ruin the surprise for the players with advance Tweets or stories.

The O’Ree academy was designed by the Penguins Foundation to provide unique training, social, and mentorship opportunities for Black youth hockey players in the Pittsburgh region. The program is named in honor of Willie O’Ree, who became the NHL’s first Black player in 1958 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2018.

The Willie O’Ree Academy is in its eighth week of a nine-week program. For more information on the Willie O’Ree Academy, visit here.

Joseph, 21, is a player of color and currently the only such player in the Penguins system. However, other black players have skated for the Penguins recently, including Georges Laraque and Ryan Reaves.

The young Penguins defenseman doesn’t currently figure to be a top-six defenseman on the NHL club at the start of the 2021-22 season, as three established players and contracts are ahead of him, including Marcus Pettersson.

However, the players gave Joseph a hearty stick tap when instructors introduced him at the beginning of the one-hour practice. In his Penguins workout gear, Joseph worked on skating drills with the youth players and dazzled with a few stickhandling moves before allowing goalies to make a save.

For the final 20 minutes of practice, Joseph officiated a scrimmage, though it appeared he “let the boys play.” He’ll fit in just fine in the NHL. He also led one rush and dished a would-be assist. Watch the end of the video–Joseph had to scrap at the net, too. Whoever that little guy was, we like his grit!

According to the unofficial count on Wikipedia, there are only 31 players of color currently on NHL rosters, including Joseph and his brother Mathieu with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NHL players, including those who are a part of the NHL Diversity Alliance, have encountered racism on the way to the NHL. Tuesday night Joseph dismissed those who would display such ignorance and sling hate.

“We didn’t care about it… You encounter it here and there, on the ice and off,” Joseph said. “But you ignore their ignorance and surround yourself with good people. Plus I think my family would protect us.”

But Joseph did not dismiss the importance of seeing familiar faces. Growing up in Montreal, Joseph looked up to former Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.

Perhaps soon the players at the O’Ree Academy in Pittsburgh will be citing Joseph as the player they look up to.

And that’s the point. Good job, Penguins Foundation, O’Ree Academy.

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Penguins Re-Sign Zohorna to 2-Year Deal; 2nd Year is NHL Only

Published 16 hours ago on August 3, 2021

By Dan Kingerski

The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up their big Czech prospect who had fans salivating last season. Radim Zohorna signed a two-year deal with the Penguins on Tuesday, according to GM Ron Hextall.

Last season, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Zohorna played his first season in North America. He played most of the season with the Penguins AHL farm team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, though he spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice and the taxi squad. In the NHL, Zohorna scored four points (2-2-4) in eight games.

The 25-year-old rookie scored his first NHL goal on his first career shot on March 25 against the Buffalo Sabres, becoming the 22nd Penguins player to score a goal in his first career game.

The contract, which is two-way in 2021-22 and one-way in 2022-23, runs through the ‘22-23 season and carries an average annual value of $750,000 at the NHL level.

“Radim impressed us last season with his ability to transition to the smaller ice surface quickly and adapt his game,” said Penguins general manager Ron Hextall. “He is a power forward with a lot of potential, and we are excited to watch him continue to grow as a player.”

From the Pittsbrugh Penguins release:

Before the beginning of the Penguins’ 2020-21 season, Zohorna played on a loan with BK Mlada Boleslav, recording 12 goals, 10 assists, and 22 points in 21 games.

Zohorna played parts of seven seasons in the Czech Republic’s top professional league between 2014-21, the , split between BK Mlada Boleslav and HC Kometa Brno.

A native of Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, the undrafted forward is a two-time Czech Extraliga Champion, with HC Kometa Brno in 2017 and 2018. Zohorna was a vital member of HC Kometa Brno’s 2018 championship team. He was tied for sixth on the team with a career-high seven playoff points (3G-4A) in 14 games, which included the opening goal in the championship-clinching game.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191285 Pittsburgh Penguins The Islanders can technically exceed the salary cap by a mile on the NHL trade front because some contracts are not on the books. They can then make additional moves without other teams holding their feet to the fire. They could blow past the 10% salary cap excess limit because the 5 Penguins One-Timers: Pettersson Trade Chatter, Islanders Deception other contracts are hushed.

Lamoriello is a shrewd GM who is a good judge of talent and knows how to build a winning roster. The other silliness like throwing a reporter out of Published 16 hours ago on August 3, 2021 his office for not wearing a tie or not having reading Vince Lombardi’s By Dan Kingerski biography, barring staff from having facial hair, and this CIA-level secrecy is also maniacal control.

In 2013, Lamoriello also came under scrutiny for creative ways to get Ilya Leave it to Lou Lamoriello to find a completely legal but entirely dirty way Kovalchuk off his books after signing him to a monster 15-year contract to gain an advantage. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman officially put Marcus in New Jersey. Kovalchuk “retired” to play in the KHL with 12 years Pettersson’s name on the NHL trade block, perhaps Jason Zucker, too, remaining, then come back to the NHL five years later, as a free agent. but I’m going to strongly caution about doing a victory lap or spending New Jersey was free and clear. that cap money before the Pittsburgh Penguins have it. The NHL and NHLPA need to step in and nip this one in the bud. If the This is why I laid out the Penguins lines last weekend. In a bubble, you Islanders have signed Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, or anyone else, those can forget the big picture. Looking at the Penguins lines should give no chips need to be on the table. hope that they’re a strong contender. As the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers get better, the playoffs seem more in doubt than ever, 3. The Chicago Blackhawks Will Release the Findings of Their unless Jeff Carter maintains his 40-goal pace. Independent Investigation

The analytics crowd will be stunned when the Flyers don’t fall into In 2010, Chicago’s video coach allegedly sexually assaulted a couple of oblivion. One must assume Carter Hart will be much better, too. players, though the “IF” the assaults occurred isn’t really being questioned. The primary questions are–What did Chicago management Anyway… know, when did they know it, and why didn’t they do anything about it?

Pittsburgh Penguins One-Timers After one season, Chicago GM Stan Bowman fired the video coach, Brad Aldrich, but gave the coach a positive recommendation to coach a high 1. Marcus Pettersson, NHL Trade Rumors Aren’t What We Think school team. You can guess the horror that happened next. Elliotte Friedman, on his 31 Thoughts podcast, stated the Penguins have Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz has pledged full transparency and to interested parties for Pettersson. There are a couple of teams who like release the findings of the organization’s report. his style. It’s 2021. No matter what it says, will anyone believe it? If it’s the worst- Now, hold your horses. As we’ve cautioned before, if there were a good case scenario, people will dispute it. If it’s light on facts and absolves deal or even an acceptable deal for Pettersson on the NHL trade front, it much of the Chicago org, people will condemn it. would have been done already. Pittsburgh Penguins GM Hextall most probably would have done it before the expansion draft, which cost the I had a high school teacher back in 1992. He was a hippie sort (I mean Penguins Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann. Hextall would have done a that genuinely) and our religion teacher. He tried to explain there was no deal before the NHL draft so the Penguins could recoup a pick or two. It truth, only personal perspectives. I argued with him. I’m still right, but his would have been done before free agency, so Hextall had what my side won. We live in a post-truth world, and there are no ways to grandfather used to call “some flinching money.” convince people because someone only needs others to support their opinion for it to be valid. I’m not sure what my Grandfather was doing in his younger days that it was called “flinching money,” but it means to have some cash in your Apply that corollary as you will. pocket if you need it. In the end, this Chicago situation is going to be ugly. Read the tea leaves here. Hextall is most likely faced with the choice of giving up draft choices or a prospect to move Pettersson because of his 4. The Penguins Will Miss/Make the Playoffs? $4.025 million salary. Losing draft picks or prospects is a choice Hextall Their lines are not good enough to compete with the top teams in the has thus far rejected. The play here is to wait for a team to give up on the Eastern Conference. That much looks pretty clear when you lay them UFA market or other options and come to the table straight up. out. We can debate where Zach Aston-Reese or Evan Rodrigues fits, if Just remember, the Vegas Golden Knights dealt the reigning Vezina Sam Poulin or Filip Hallander may draw in, but to expect any of those Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury for no tangible return because of his players to be substantial difference-makers would be using hope as a salary. strategy.

2. Lou Lamoriello Believed to be Not Reporting Contracts Hextall has work to do.

If true, the New York Islanders are absolutely violating the spirit of the 5. Jim Rutherford Really Hamstrung the Pittsburgh Penguins rules. An NHL GM is not reporting contracts, so his team has a stronger I know. Water is wet. Kylie Jenner is ridiculously rich, with emphasis on negotiating position? I think at this point, there are enough credible ridiculous. reports, from Sportsnet to TSN to New York media, that we can accept this one as fact. But where Rutherford specifically erred was not the carousel of player movement that some harp upon. No, it was dishing hefty contracts to We can also accept that is dirty pool. It’s akin to hiding poker chips in young defensemen who lacked a purebred pedigree. your pocket. That kind of deceptive behavior would get a card player in serious trouble back in the Wild West. It’s dishonest. It’s secretive dealing John Marino was a sixth-round pick acquired for a sixth-round pick. in a public entertainment business. If you haven’t noticed, the hockey Marcus Pettersson was a pressbox defenseman in Anaheim. Each had crowd goes wild for trade and player movement, including free agency. exciting first years with the Penguins, followed by an expiring contract. In Pettersson’s case, he had to sign his qualifying offer because the A soap opera without drama is just lame theater on a cheap soundstage. Penguins simply didn’t have the money for a long-term deal–until A hockey without player movement drama is hockey with a LOT fewer January. fans. By then, Pettersson had settled into the player he is today, which doesn’t And the NHL will probably find no fault with it. have the same luster or potential as when he arrived for in So, get ready for less and less news on July 1, as teams agree to deals December 2018. However, Rutherford dished the long-term contract with but sit on the paperwork, so no one knows who signed where and we get a $4.025 AAV anyway. to guess at rosters. Heck, if they’re secret deals, why not agree to them weeks before July 1? I like Marino very much. He had a sophomore slump but really shined when called upon as a top-pairing defender. The book is not yet written on Marino, but he’s being paid as if he’s an established defenseman.

Rutherford splashed the cash but didn’t get a bargain on either one. Rutherford’s penchant for being “fair” cost the Pittsburgh Penguins here. The team didn’t use their leverage, and now it will likely cost them a player.

In the fall of 2019, the Penguins’ logjammed defense was broken by dumping Erik Gudbranson on the NHL trade market. That wasn’t Rutherford’s first choice–recall the Jack Johnson trade report that didn’t come to pass. We could see a similar Penguins trade scenario with Pettersson, in which Marino becomes the unintended sacrificial lamb.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191286 San Jose Sharks ESPN reported that the investigation team will be assembled by Jared Maples, who took over as the NHL’s executive vice president and chief security officer in May. Maples is the former head of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security. The Sharks could sever ties with Evander Kane. Here’s how. The NHL expects to conclude its investigation into Kane by the start of Evander Kane’s alleged gambling and friction with teammates could training camp next month. press San Jose Sharks to buy out Kane’s contract Tuesday, the Hockey Diversity Alliance announced that Kane was on voluntary leave as a board member “as to not distract from our mission to eradicate systemic racism and intolerance in hockey.” Kane, along with By CURTIS PASHELKA | PUBLISHED: August 3, 2021 at 1:04 p.m. | eight other current and former NHL players, helped create the alliance UPDATED: August 3, 2021 at 3:58 p.m. last year. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 08.04.2021 Amid reports the Sharks have explored trading Evander Kane and that several of his teammates do not want him to remain with the organization, another avenue has apparently opened for the club to part ways with the embattled forward if they so choose. Goalie Adin Hill, a restricted free agent, filed for salary arbitration on Sunday as he and the Sharks have yet to agree on a new contract. Per the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement with the Players’ Association, when a player elects salary arbitration, it allows the team to exercise a buyout outside of the regular window if certain requirements are met. Those requirements are that the club does not have more than three buyouts that were executed in the second window, that the contract being bought out has an average annual value above $4 million and that the player being bought out was on the club’s reserve list at noon (PT) at the time of the most recent NHL trade deadline. The Sharks have not executed more than three buyouts in the second window, Kane’s contract carries an average annual value of $7 million for the next four years and he was on the team’s reserve list on April 12, the date of this past season’s trade deadline. A buyout in the second window would have to take place no more than 48 hours after the final arbitration case is settled or awarded. This year, 17 players elected arbitration and there are two team-elected arbitration cases. Arbitration hearings are scheduled to take place between Aug. 11 and 26. Still, buying out the remaining years on Kane’s contract would have some expensive drawbacks for the Sharks. For one, it would greatly increase the amount of dead money that’s already on the Sharks’ books for the next several years after Martin Jones’ contract was bought out July 27 on the last day of the regular buyout period. Jones’ deal had carried an AAV of $5.75 million, but dead money total is roughly $7.25 million for the next three seasons combined. After that, the cap hit on the contract is reduced to $1.66 million for three more years until the 2026-27 season. Kane’s deal, should it be bought out, would remain on the books until 2029. The dead money on his deal would total over $13 million for the next four seasons, then go to $1.833 million per year for four more years. Between the two contracts, that would be a lot of unused space considering the cap is expected to remain flat or increase only slightly over the $81.5 million limit it is now. But considering how much the relationship between Kane and some of his teammates has reportedly soured, a buyout would seemingly have to at least be discussed by the Sharks’ front office. The Athletic, citing sources, reported Tuesday that several Sharks players do not want Kane to remain with San Jose and that the team sought to trade him. Daily Faceoff had reported, before allegations of Kane’s gambling on NHL games arose, that friction had built up between some Sharks players and Kane over the course of the season. Kane just finished his third full season with the Sharks after he was acquired by general manager in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres in Feb. 2018. In 212 games with the Sharks, Kane has 87 goals and 166 points, second only in that time to Brent Burns’ 173 points. The NHL announced Saturday that it would investigate allegations made by Anna Kane, Evander Kane’s estranged wife, that he gambled on NHL games. Evander Kane has strenuously denied the allegations. Per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players’ Association, gambling by players on any NHL game is prohibited. League by-laws also contain a provision that says any player betting on any NHL game — whether it is his team’s game or not — may be expelled or suspended by the commissioner. 1191287 San Jose Sharks That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, just awfully hard. And that’s why leagues have rules about players betting on their own sports and their own teams, even if there are sports books in the stadiums and arenas where they play. Column: NHL quickly responds to Kane betting allegations So, yes, the NHL should be alarmed about Anna Kane’s claims. The league should investigate them and do it quickly. TIM DAHLBERG A lot of things have changed in the last few years as sports betting becomes a part of the accepted sports fabric. Leagues are delicately balancing added income from sports betting deals against the possibility One thing seems clear by glancing at social media surrounding San Jose something nefarious could happen because of them. Sharks forward Evander Kane. He has some issues, and his wife says One thing that hasn’t changed is the bedrock rule that players don’t bet betting on his own team is one of them. on their own sport, much less their own games. Anna Kane said some other things, too, in an Instagram post over the San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 08.04.2021 weekend that also accused the hockey player of partying in Europe while the bank was going after their house and she was struggling to buy formula for their baby. Awful, of course, if true. But there are two sides to every story, and Kane responded by saying he and his wife are going through a contentious divorce and denied he had ever bet on any game he played in — or any NHL games at all, for that matter. “I love the game of hockey and would never do any of what was alleged,’’ Kane posted online. Where the truth lies remains to be seen. But the NHL was so alarmed by the allegations that the league immediately launched an investigation into them. With good reason. Any inkling that games are being thrown or somehow compromised because players are betting on the game is the worst nightmare of a commissioner of any major sport. But when you’re suddenly all in on sports betting like the NHL and other major leagues are, it’s hard to find the proper moral high ground to occupy. What was once a sin is now a profit center embraced by sports leagues eager to make a few dollars any way they can. Still, throwing games is throwing games. And that’s also on the list of allegations Anna Kane delivered on Instagram. “The integrity of our game is paramount and the League takes these allegations very seriously,’’ the NHL said in a statement. That Kane was involved in gambling, if not sports betting itself, was common knowledge before Anna Kane made her allegations on Instagram. Kane was sued by a casino for unpaid gambling debts of $500,000 run up while the Sharks were playing in Las Vegas in 2019, and a California bankruptcy filing earlier this year obtained by The Athletic indicated he lost $1.5 million gambling over the previous year. But there’s gambling and then there’s sports betting. For years, the major sports leagues treated them the same — but now that they have skin in the game they are careful to point out the differences. Losing money at a craps table isn’t especially concerning. Losing while betting on your own games is another matter indeed. In another time, Paul Hornung and Alex Karros lost a year in the NFL because they wagered a few hundred dollars on football games. Their 1963 suspension came complete with a warning about the curse of gambling from commissioner Pete Rozelle. “This sport has grown so quickly and gained so much of the approval of the American public that the only way it can be hurt is through gambling,” Rozelle said. Meanwhile, Pete Rose recently turned 80 and the man who will likely hold the major league hits record forever remains ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Though and its teams now have lucrative deals with various betting sites, Rose remains a pariah for doing what the league tries to entice millions of sports fans to do now — bet on its games. Rose’s ban should have been rescinded years ago, but that’s a topic for another time. Rose has long since paid his penalty and baseball has long since made its point. If gamblers don’t think a game is on the up and up, they’ll stop betting. If fans don’t think games are on the up and up, they’ll stop watching. Still, it would be awfully hard for an individual player to successfully throw a game. Betting lines are constantly analyzed on both sides of the counter, and the amount of money needed to fix a game would be easily spotted long before a puck is dropped or a football is kicked. 1191288 San Jose Sharks

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

BY JOSH SCHROCK

Several of Evander Kane's teammates don't want the 30-year-old winger to return to the Sharks this season, The Athletic's Kevin Kurz reported Tuesday, citing sources. Kurz also confirmed a report by The Daily Faceoff that the Sharks attempted to trade Kane earlier this summer. Kane's teammates' issues with the winger reportedly were one of the main drivers for the Sharks to try and find him a new home. Kane currently is being investigated by the NHL after his wife, Anna, accused him of gambling on his own NHL games and intentionally trying to lose in order to turn a gambling profit. On Sunday, Kane denied the allegations. "I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,'' Kane wrote on Twitter. "The facts are I personally had my best season of the my career last year and was the most consistent I've been throughout any season, I'm proud of that. I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league's investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season." Kane's gambling issues have been known for some time, as he filed for bankruptcy in January. In the filing, he noted he had lost $1.5 million on gambling in the past year. Kane has said he and his wife are in the process of getting a divorce. A Sharks team spokesman told The Associated Press in an email that the organization supports the NHL's investigation. "The San Jose Sharks have been in contact today with the National Hockey League about the serious allegations made against Evander Kane. We support a full and transparent investigation into the situation to maintain the integrity of the game and consistency with our team values.'' Kane had 22 goals and 27 assists in 56 games for the Sharks last season. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191289 San Jose Sharks Right wings Timo Meier

Kevin Labanc Sharks updated depth chart: Evander Kane will leave a void on the ice if he’s not back Matt Nieto Noah Gregor By Kevin Kurz Aug 3, 2021 Sasha Chmelevski Joachim Blichfeld Any discussion about the Sharks’ depth chart has to begin with the man Nick Merkley who was their most consistent player last season, and whose future with the team is now uncertain — Evander Kane. It feels at this point as though Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc are consistently mentioned in the same breath in that they both have been Kane, of course, is at the top of the chart among Sharks left wingers. The trending down since the end of the 2018-19 season, and they both have 30-year-old posted a team-leading 22 goals and 49 points last season been named in trade speculation for the last few months. They’re still in and played the kind of effective power game that few players in the San Jose, though, which means they’re both going to have to produce in league have the tools to play. the top six — or at least the top nine — for the Sharks to have any chance at a playoff spot. Meier, especially, is going to have to make an But has he played his last game with the Sharks? impact right away. The forward’s effort and body language throughout As Daily Faceoff first reported and we confirmed with a league source, much of last season left a lot to be desired, but he is still a player who the Sharks were trying to trade Kane earlier in the summer — before the has the potential to score 30 goals. He could also end up on the left wing, gambling accusations by his wife surfaced, resulting in a league although last year he was mostly on the right side. investigation. Moving Kane was already going to be difficult, considering From there, it’s a bit hazy how the rest of the lineup will fill out on that he has a three-team limited no-trade clause and other baggage. Now, it’s side. Matt Nieto was re-signed, and he’s a good depth guy to have surely impossible. around in that he’s a solid teammate, works hard and can kill penalties. But regardless of how the gambling investigation plays out and the high Noah Gregor still has some issues in his two-way game but possesses likelihood that the club won’t be able to move him, several current Sharks an NHL toolbox if he can put it all together. Wilson has mentioned that would still prefer Kane not return next season, according to multiple bringing in a veteran third-line center would benefit some of the younger sources. Kane’s relationship became increasingly strained with his wingers in the organization, and Gregor could be one of those guys. This teammates last season, and it was made clear to general manager Doug is an important season for him. Wilson by some of them that the organization would be better off finding If Gregor doesn’t progress, perhaps someone line Sasha Chmelevski or a way to separate itself from him and the four years and $28 million he Joachim Blichfeld can make the leap. Both players have shown they can has remaining on his contract. thrive in the AHL, but neither has done enough yet to show they are It’s quite the conundrum for Wilson, who has made some key offseason ready for a full-time roster spot on the big club. Chmelevski seems like moves with the aim of returning the Sharks to the playoffs in 2021-22. the more well-rounded of the two. Losing Kane would leave a huge on-ice void and might hurt in the short Rudolfs Balcers, who played mostly on the left side last season, could term, as the depth chart below reveals. But parting with Kane might help also conceivably play on the right. the Sharks take a positive step towards reestablishing the kind of culture they’ve been seeking ever since Joe Pavelski departed for Dallas. Left wings Centers Evander Kane Tomas Hertl Rudolfs Balcers Logan Couture Alexander Barabanov Nick Bonino Andrew Cogliano Dylan Gambrell Jonathan Dahlen Lane Pederson John Leonard Joel Kellman Jeffrey Viel Scott Reedy Ivan Chekhovich Wilson said early in the offseason that he would add a veteran third-line Clearly, Kane is the Sharks’ best option on the left side in the top six. center, and he deserves credit for landing one of the better ones on the After that, there’s some real uncertainty. market in Nick Bonino. The 33-year-old may even end up as a bargain with a $2.05 million salary-cap hit for the next two seasons. Alexander Barabanov and Rudolfs Balcers have been mentioned in tandem by Wilson as two players who he hopes can build on what they While Bonino is a nice add, the offense will have to be driven by Logan accomplished last season. Barabanov’s impact was immediate with Couture and Tomas Hertl, both of whom had up-and-down seasons in seven points (three goals, four assists) in nine games after he was 2021. Couture started off on fire before really cooling down over the essentially given away by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, and second half, while Hertl was just the opposite. After a mid-season bout Balcers, who was claimed off waivers, was a decent player before tailing with COVID-19, Hertl — a pending unrestricted free agent next summer off late with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 41 games. Can these — was arguably the Sharks’ best player over the final six weeks. two forwards have a consistent impact in a full, 82-game season? We’ll see. It’s likely that the fourth-line center job will be an open competition in training camp, but Dylan Gambrell should be the frontrunner after he re- Andrew Cogliano is a nice depth piece who, like Nieto, will work hard, be signed for $1.1 million in the offseason. Gambrell will have to have a a good team guy and be a part of the penalty kill. But offensively, he’s not solid training camp, though, which he didn’t have in 2021. The Sharks a huge threat anymore. acquired 23-year-old prospect Lane Pederson from Arizona on July 28, and they also still have Joel Kellman, who is on a one-way contract. If As far as the young players go, Jonathan Dahlen, 23, will be one of the Gambrell falters, one of those two could conceivably leapfrog him. Noah more intriguing players when camp begins. The Sharks obviously think Gregor, listed here as a right wing, also played some center last season. he can have an impact at the NHL level, signing him to a one-way contract in June after some good seasons in the second-tier Swedish Among the prospects to keep an eye on will be Scott Reedy, a fourth- league, Allsvenskan. John Leonard could also push for a roster spot round pick in 2017 who just wrapped up a four-year college career at (perhaps as a right wing), but after he went the final 30 games of the Minnesota and is someone the organization believes can play in the NHL season without a goal, it might make more sense for him to build some at some point. Reedy, 22, will probably begin the season in a key role confidence in the AHL first. Jeffrey Viel might stick around as a 13th with the Barracuda after he played well for them in a brief stint at the end forward when the Sharks want some extra muscle in the lineup, while of last season. Ivan Chekhovich will probably have to show he can produce consistently with the Barracuda after he spent most of last season in the KHL. Right defense Erik Karlsson Brent Burns Ryan Merkley Obviously, the two names at the top of this list are still vitally important. While Brent Burns will likely not ever be in the Norris Trophy discussion again at age 36, Erik Karlsson will have to somehow find a way to become one of the league’s best defensemen again. Skepticism about whether that can happen is warranted. It’s likely that the Sharks will have to start two left-shot defensemen on their third pair. Nicolas Meloche is probably nothing more than a fill-in at this point, while Ryan Merkley will have to do more with the Barracuda than he did last season before he gets any consideration to make his NHL debut. Left defense Mario Ferraro Nikolai Knyzhov Marc-Edouard Vlasic Radim Simek Brinson Pasichnuk Jacob Middleton Mario Ferraro has established himself as arguably the most important player in the organization under the age of 23 (which he turns on Sept. 17). That’s not just because of the steps he took in his sophomore NHL season, but because Ferraro will also undoubtedly be counted on to provide leadership for the young players coming up. Nikolai Knyzhov is also very likely to start the season on one of the top two pairs, probably with Karlsson, with whom he spent most last season. The much-maligned Marc-Edouard Vlasic will have to come to camp much more prepared than he was in 2021, when he had to play himself into shape in training camp and in the first few months of the season. But after three straight subpar seasons, it’s more likely Vlasic will have to fight for a spot in the active lineup now that there are some younger players who have surpassed him and others are knocking on the door. Unsurprisingly, the Sharks didn’t find any takers for Radim Simek, despite the defenseman being offered up to other NHL teams. He, too, will be looking to bounce back from a difficult 2021, if he’s still on the team come October. The Sharks could still use his physicality on the back end, and he could end up on the third pair with Vlasic. There are some interesting defensive prospects in the system, like Santeri Hatakka and Artemi Kniazev, set to join the Barracuda, but Brinson Pasichnuk should be ahead of them after the 23-year-old got some NHL experience last season. Consider him a possibility to be in the lineup on opening night. Goalies Adin Hill James Reimer Alexei Melnichuk Putting anyone in the net other than Martin Jones on opening night would have been just fine with most Sharks fans, who surely grew tired of the inconsistent netminding from the now-Philadelphia Flyers backup. So, who will it be? It’s difficult to predict whether Adin Hill or James Reimer will get the call against Winnipeg on Oct. 16. Bob Boughner indicated on July 28 that it could be an open, healthy competition in training camp and in the preseason games. Regardless, both goalies should get plenty of playing time. Alexei Melnichuk will get the bulk of the minutes for the Barracuda next season and will be the first option if the Sharks suffer an injury to one of their top two goaltenders. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191290 San Jose Sharks

REPORT: “Several” Kane Teammates Don’t Want Him Back on Sharks

By Sheng Peng

Another day, more sordid Evander Kane news. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic has reported that “several” of Kane’s teammates don’t want the embattled winger to come back to the San Jose Sharks next season. These teammates, according to The Athletic, were upset with Kane’s “disrespect for team rules,” like being late for practices and games. This lines up with a June report from the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. “Sources indicate significant friction built up between Kane and a number of his teammates last season,” Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff wrote, “frustration that was expressed clearly to management in exit interviews.” “Zero consequences came,” a source told The Athletic, “which caused a ripple effect with other, younger guys.” This might be what San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner was referring to in his May exit interview. San Jose Hockey Now asked Boughner what he would improve as a head coach next year, following another season out of the playoffs. “I think moving forward: Just holding a hard line and holding guys accountable. There’s times this year where we made our decision and held guys accountable,” Boughner acknowledged. “That’s an area, I think any coach would say it’s a fine line. You want to hold everybody to the same standard, which we do, but that has to go for your best players as well. There can’t be any blurred lines there. “I think at times, because the situation we’re in and we’re fighting for every point, some guys might have got away with more than we wish for. But we were sort of at the mercy of trying to win important games at that time of year. “It’s not a problem at all. But that’s something, if you look in the mirror, and you say next year coming in, I think that day one, you gotta make sure everybody’s on the same page, they stay on the same page, and no one veers from that path.” Kane certainly was one of the San Jose Sharks’ best players last year — winning the media-voted Team MVP — but it appears that he also pushed both his teammates and coaches too far. It will be difficult, however, for GM Doug Wilson to move Kane. Kane is three seasons into a seven-year, $49 million dollar contract and has a modified no-trade clause. Kane’s NTC stipulates that he can only be dealt to three clubs of his choice. And this isn’t even mentioning everything else swirling around the 30- year-old winger. Last week, Anna Kane, Evander Kane’s wife, accused him of gambling on San Jose Sharks games — on top of calling him an “evil person” for his treatment of her and their daughter. In January, he declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, his debts even getting the San Jose Sharks sued. So what’s the San Jose Sharks’ next step? A month and a half away from training camp, it’s safe to say that this won’t be the last Evander Kane story this off-season. San Jose Hockey Now LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191291 Seattle Kraken Price’s agent, Gerry Johannson, according to the post even phoned the night before the Wednesday draft to suggest they be ready to postpone the goalie’s Thursday surgery in New York and immediately fly to Seattle if needed. ‘I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle’: Kraken rumors got attention of Carey and Angela Price “Carey’s agent called to tell Carey to keep his phone on him tomorrow morning,” she wrote. “If Seattle does take him, we will change our trip and head to Seattle, scheduling the surgery in New York for a later date. And that is when it hit me. I looked at Carey in shock and said you can’t By Geoff Baker go to the draft party and put on a Kraken jersey, parading around in front of everyone! How disrespectful to all the Habs fans and that franchise! Inside the NHL “We continued to discuss how, at the end of the day, it is a business and players get traded away all the time. I understood that, but it still didn’t Now that the Kraken has its own star goaltender in Philipp Grubauer, let’s feel right. I couldn’t wrap my mind around Carey doing that.” take one more trip down memory lane, to two weeks ago when it seemed another elite netminder might be playing here instead. Ultimately, the Kraken ended things by taking young Canadiens defenseman Cale Fleury instead. But it goes to show you can never be I’m talking, of course, about former Tri-City Americans goalie Carey too certain about things in sports. Price, who you’ll remember waived his no-movement clause days ahead of the expansion draft. That set off continentwide speculation about what After all, the Kraken is now taking a combined annual salary-cap hit of it all meant and whether the Kraken might pick him. $9.4 million on goalie tandem Grubauer and Chris Driedger for at least three seasons. That’s not too far off an alternative $11.2 million Well, it turns out the Price household was doing a fair bit of speculating combined hit on Price and going with young goalie Vitek Vanecek the as well and was on pins and needles like the rest of us until the morning first season, then roughly $14 million annually for keeping both around of the draft. That’s at least according to Price’s wife, Angela, a several years after that. Kennewick native who updated her “By Angela” blog this week to include a segment on her husband’s playoff run with Montreal and the ensuing Or, the Kraken could have bit on $14 million annually right away the next expansion-draft chaos. three years by keeping Driedger — as it since has over Vanecek — to go with Price. Either way, it’s not a deal-breaking cap space gap between I’ll skip her recap on Price taking his upstart Canadiens to the Stanley what’s here and what many envisioned. Cup Final before losing to Tampa Bay in five games. What happened next, according to Angela Price’s entry titled “Life Update” was the goalie But we no longer have to worry about it. Neither does Angela Price, who decided to have arthroscopic surgery to “clean up” his knee and figured it termed the experience “quite the mind(expletive)” and “a game of safe to be exposed in the expansion draft so the Canadiens could protect chicken” she hopes to never repeat again. backup netminder Jake Allen from the Kraken. Amen to that. “Really, there was no other option,” she wrote. “With the unknown result Now, let’s just hope the Kraken doesn’t have any more accounting of Carey’s surgery and recovery time we couldn’t risk losing Jake — the glitches lurking in Grubauer’s contract so we can all move on to backup goalie, who Seattle would have taken, for sure. I was not discussing Kraken goalies — actual or envisioned — based on how often stressed about it at all — because of Carey’s contract, his age and his they stop pucks. injury Seattle wouldn’t even give him a second glance … or so we thought.” Seattle Times LOADED: 08.04.2021 There was a 24-hour delay between the announcement that her husband had been unprotected and the news that he would undergo knee surgery. That information void prompted a firestorm of speculation, that Carey Price wanted out of Montreal because of its intense hockey-media scrutiny. Plus, his in-laws live in Washington and the couple has an offseason home in Kelowna, British Columbia. Angela Price found that interim period tough. “His injury was the entire reason we had lifted his no trade and he was left unprotected,” she wrote. “It hurt my heart to read that people thought we wanted out of Montreal. I was so thankful when it came out the next day that Carey was going to need surgery, but at the same time Carey’s agent was calling to say that Seattle didn’t seem too concerned about his injury and him being picked up could really happen.” And that’s where the frayed nerves truly began for the Price family. Just like the rest of us, they apparently felt he might be pulling on a Kraken jersey at Gas Works Park come July 21. “So naturally, I spent the next couple of days living on Twitter, reading every little thing and over thinking it all,” Angela Price wrote. There’s probably a joke in there someplace when a famous athlete and his family sift through Twitter gossip to make sense of a situation he created and easily could have avoided by leaving his no-movement clause intact. But as somebody also reduced during that Sunday-to- Wednesday saga to deciphering Twitter posts as part of a hockey-writing gig I’d thought was supposed to be serious, I can only sympathize and save my barbs for more-deserving social-media addicts. Ultimately, the Price family wasn’t nearly as certain as some fans and pundits that he would be staying put. “It definitely got to a point where I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle, so I let myself start mentally preparing for it and even talking about it,” she wrote. “Just in case it did happen. Of course, there were benefits to being only a 3-hour drive from home — I could be there for every single holiday and my parents could come up on the weekends. I have a lot of friends and family in Seattle, so that could be fun! … I was hyping it up in my head to a point where I began to think ‘heck, why wouldn’t we want to go to Seattle?’.’’ 1191292 St Louis Blues with Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. But they still stayed in win-now mode by landing defensemen Alex Goligoski and Dimitry Kulikov, among others. Gordo: Tougher Central Division creates huge challenge for Blues The Dallas Stars are also going for it with center Tyler Seguin back after missing most of his last season after hip surgery. They added Suter on defense and Braden Holtby in goal with injury-battered Ben Bishop facing an uncertain future. Jeff Gordon The Winnipeg Jets retained Paul Stastny and addressed their defensive shortcomings by acquiring Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon. New Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has warmed up The Predators got younger with Pekka Rinne’s retirement and the to playing in the Windy City. He is making the rounds this week to check departure of defenseman Ryan Ellis and winger Viktor Arvidsson in out his new surroundings. trades. But they re-signed veteran forward Mikael Granlund and they “It was great to spend some time speaking with him, showing him have goaltender Juuse Saros coming off his breakout campaign. around, talking about our team,” Blackhawks general manger Stan The NHL returned to its pre-pandemic divisional alignment and playoff Bowman said. “A couple of our players were there and he got a chance format. The top three teams from the Central and Pacific will make the to say hello to them. There were a lot of smiles going around.” bracket, to be joined by the next two Western Conference teams with the This is just another big, bold sign that the Blues will face a fierce best record. challenge in the Central Division this season. In the Central’s best-case scenario, two good teams will miss out. If the The flat salary cap leveled out the competition, as did the expansion draft Pacific Division somehow holds its own — something even Evander and the related trades. Loaded teams lost talent and some lesser teams Kane wouldn’t bet on — then three worthy squads from the Central could loaded up. fall short. The new kids on the block, the Arizona Coyotes, went into full tank-and- The margin for error (and injuries) will be slight. The Blues will need to rebuild mode while getting bumped to this division by the expansion start fast and stay strong to survive the gauntlet that awaits them. Seattle Kraken. But the other seven teams will battle for four or five St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 08.04.2021 playoff spots, depending on how the wild card slots fall. The Blues would have to fight through daunting parity just to reach the postseason bracket. The NHL’s leveling offseason is best summed up by the Vegas Golden Knights gifting Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and three-time Stanley Cup champion, to the Blackhawks. Technically Fleury was traded for somebody named Mikael Hakkarainen, but the Golden Knights dumped Fleury’s $7 million salary cap hit by simply giving him to a conference rival. It took him a few days, but Fleury finally embraced his new opportunity. “Hey Chicago, it’s Marc,” he said via a video posted on Twitter. “I just want to let you know I’m in. Let’s get to work.” This is not good news for division foes. A few months back, the Blackhawks were the second-worst team in the new-look Central Division, ahead of only the Coyotes. But then captain Jonathan Toews announced that he will come back after missing last season with illness. At some point one of the sport’s elite two-way centers will rejoin the lineup. The Blackhawks offloaded 38-year-old Duncan Keith’s entire salary cap hit on the in a trade for defenseman Caleb Jones. That set up the trade for prime-age defenseman Seth Jones, Caleb’s brother. The Blackhawks locked Seth into a $76 million deal and also wooed rugged defenseman Jake McCabe with a $16 million investment. They also swapped Brent Seabrook’s long-term injured reserve money for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson and his cap hit. Johnson brings a Cup-winning pedigree and enough gas for a third-line role. Fleury arrived to fill their biggest need. The Blackhawks relied on Kevin Lankinen, Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia in goal last season with predictably uneven results. Oh, and future No. 1 center Kirby Dach is back to full strength after missing much of last season with a broken wrist. “What we’re hoping for is a competitive team that’s pushing for the playoffs,” Bowman said. “That’s why we all do this. Certainly, some years it’s more likely than others ... this year, we’re looking to take a step forward. There’s a lot of reason for excitement and optimism.” The Colorado Avalanche should still be the class of the division, despite losing goaltender Philipp Grubauer, defenseman and forwards Joonas Donskoi and Brandon Saad. They retained captain Gabriel Landeskog, plucked goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the bailing Coyotes and added steady defenseman Ryan Murray. With Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen skating through opponents, the ‘Lanche will still rank among the Cup favorites. The Minnesota Wild created big salary cap challenges for 2022 and beyond by buying out the remainder of those stupid 13-year contracts 1191293 St Louis Blues

Blues, Kyrou agree on two-year contract

Jim Thomas

Looking for bigger and better things from Jordan Kyrou this coming season, the Blues have rewarded Kyrou’s breakout 2020-21 campaign with a bigger and better contract. The 23-year-old forward has agreed to a two-year, $5.6 million deal. The annual average value of $2.8 million is close to four times Kyrou’s salary cap count from last season ($758,333). The contract agreement was reached Tuesday morning with Kyrou talking with his agent, his father and Blues general manager to finish things off. When asked if a celebration was in order, Kyrou told the Post-Dispatch: “I don’t really have any plans as of yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.” Kyrou scored 14 goals with 21 assists in 55 games last season, including two-goal games against Anaheim (Jan. 30), San Jose (March 20) and Minnesota (May 13). He scored the game-winning goal in the Blues’ first two wins of the season. Kyrou averaged a career-high 14 minutes 25 seconds of ice time. His goal total and point total both were fifth-best on the team. Entering last season, Kyrou’s career bests were four goals, five assists and 28 games played. His immediate goal was to become an every-day player, which he achieved, missing only an April 17 contest at Arizona due to illness. “Coming into last season, my biggest thing was I wanted to be consistent, be a consistent player in the lineup,” Kyrou said. “I feel like I made good strides last year. This year I gotta do the same thing.” The Blues have made it clear they will Kyrou every opportunity to claim a top-six role this coming season. The new contract is a vote of confidence, and with Jaden Schwartz and Mike Hoffman both leaving in free agency, Kyrou has a chance to get additional time on the power play, and with that, more scoring opportunities. “Obviously, with the Blues and the organization, all the staff, we have a really good connection with each other,” Kyrou said. “We feel really good about each other. I’m obviously excited to be back for sure. ... I love playing for St. Louis.” As usual, Kyrou is spending his summer training in London, Ontario, about 1 ½ hours north of his hometown of Toronto. He gets back home on weekends to visit family and friends. “I’m working on all parts of my game,” Kyrou said. “Work on strength, my speed. Pretty much same as always.” Kyrou was a restricted free agent entering this offseason, and will still be an RFA coming out of this contract in 2023. He’s the third restricted free agent to re-up with the Blues in five days, joining Ivan Barbashev (Friday) and Dakota Joshua (Saturday). The Blues now have only Robert Thomas, who is not eligible for arbitration, unaccounted for on their list of RFAs. Additionally, Zach Sanford has filed for salary arbitration, which means he will have a contract one way or another. The team now has only $3.53 million of remaining cap space per CapFriendly, but in terms of the in-house to-do list, there’s not much left. It doesn’t appear the team has enough cap space to re-sign unrestricted free agent Tyler Bozak. Defenseman Mitch Reinke, who’s on the fringe of the “varsity” roster, also is an unrestricted free agent, and currently is looking around to test his options. And that’s basically it. All things considered, there will be a different look to the team with the departure of some veterans and the free-agent additions of forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad. “Buchnevich and Saad, they’re both really good players,” Kyrou said. “So great adds for us. It only helps us get better and helps us hopefully win another Cup this year.” St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191294 Tampa Bay Lightning

Yanni Gourde excited for chance in Seattle even with start delayed The former Lightning forward is expected to miss about six weeks of the regular season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum. Yanni Gourde moves from a Lightning team that has won back-to-back Stanley Cups to the expansion Kraken.

By Associated Press

SEATTLE — After winning two straight Stanley Cup titles, Yanni Gourde has one of the more impressive resumes among the players selected by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL expansion draft. But instead of being one of Seattle’s top forwards to start the team’s first season, Gourde is going to be stuck as a spectator when the puck finally drops after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. “It’s been a complicated situation because it’s been bugging me for over 18 months. There’s a lot of stuff in that left shoulder that didn’t work right and everything was caused by the labrum tear,” Gourde said Tuesday. “We kind of found that out when I went to see the doctor for surgery and that’s what came out of it.” Seattle was fully aware of Gourde’s surgery when it selected the talented forward in the expansion draft. The Kraken see Gourde as one of their top centers as he comes off Tampa Bay’s run to another title, a year during which he had 17 goals in the regular season and another six in the playoffs. He’s tied to Seattle through the 2024-25 season. But the news of the surgery put a damper on the excitement. Gourde said he’s been told recovery should be four months, which on the optimistic end would cause him to miss about six weeks of the regular season. It’s already going to be a challenge for the Kraken to pull together an entirely new roster and get them ready in about a month for the first game in franchise history. Gourde understands it may take a little time to fully find his role when he’s finally ready to go in late November or early December. “I don’t want to put pressure on myself,” Gourde said. “As soon as I’m ready, I’ll be ready. I’ll be skating with the boys. I’ll be battling. Like I said, my priority is to help this team win. Wherever I fit into the lineup that’s where I’m going to go and I’m going to try to work as hard as I can do to help my team win.” While Seattle appears strong on the blue line and in goal, up front has seemed a little lackluster. With Gourde missing the first stretch of the season, Seattle’s likely center options include Alexander Wennberg, Jared McCann, Colin Blackwell and Calle Järnkrok. Gourde said his first impression of the Kraken roster is that it’s a “hard- working group.” “We might be one of the teams that play playoff hockey during a season,” Gourde said. “Just hard, hard to play against during the season, and that hopefully leads us to playing in a playoffs and then we’ll see what happened.” Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191295 Tampa Bay Lightning I think Colton is ready for the third line center role, but he could also be a better fit in the top six with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn. Most likely what you’ll see to start training camp is Colton in the 3C role, flanked by Mathieu Joseph and one of the rookies (like Raddysh, Barre-Boulet, Ross Colton’s contract? Ondrej Palat’s future? Lineup projections? Katchouk). Lightning mailbag With the Gourde line gone, the Lightning won’t have the traditional third checking line, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be effective. I believe you’ll see Colton get reps in the top six and the third line, with Pat Maroon, By Joe Smith Aug 3, 2021 Pierre Edouard Bellemare and Corey Perry on the fourth. Do you think the Lightning will make another trade this offseason? Per It’s been a busy offseason for the Lightning, from the expansion draft to CapFriendly, they only have enough room for one more signing but have NHL Draft and free agency, where the Stanley Cup champs added some two open roster spots (both at forward). Thank you! —Lucas S. intriguing value. They re-signed Brayden Point and traded Tyler Johnson. I don’t think a trade is likely, unless they need to clear a little bit more cap So let’s get started on our latest mailbag, which featured more than 100 space (like they did by moving Mitchell Stephens to the Red Wings for a questions. From Ross Colton’s contract to next year’s lineup to Steven sixth round pick). Every move has to be “dollar in, dollar out,” but I don’t Stamkos’ future, we covered it all. believe the Lightning are planning to add more (other than Colton’s contract). Do you think Palat stays after his contract is up? —Zac S. Do you think Point’s extension increases the likelihood of a Stamkos Ondrej Palat has been a terrific player for the Lightning for a long time, trade down the road? Seems like there’s a ton of money tied up with and he’s a guy I know they didn’t want to lose this summer. But with Kuch, Vasi, Hedman, Point, and Stammer long term and if we want to Tampa Bay’s cap situation the way it is (already $80.7 million committed hold on to other guys who will need raises one day (Cirelli, Sergachev, to 16 players for 2022-23), it’s hard to imagine a scenario where they can etc.) then one of those big contracts may have to go. —Daniel H. re-sign him as a UFA. There’s no doubt that when Point’s extension ($9.5 million AAV) kicks in While Palat is 30 years old, he’s in incredible shape, and he’ll have for the 2022-23 season, the Lightning will have more than half their cap several years left to play. He may not get the $5.3 million AAV on the space ($44.875 million) committed to five players (Point, Stamkos, market next summer, but it’d have to be an extreme bargain for him to Kucherov, Vasilevskiy and Hedman). That’s not an impossible ratio, return. Odds are, the Lightning will roll the dice on their young players especially considering how important those players are. But it eliminates who are on their way up, from Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, Alex the margin for error for GM Julien BriseBois, who will need to sign the Barre-Boulet, etc. right depth pieces (or develop them) to keep this Cup window open. In 25 years, when greyed , Victor Hedman and the rest Does Point’s extension mean a Stamkos trade is more likely? That’s of the Lightning are trotted out at new , what do you think complicated. First of all, Stamkos still has a full no-move clause, so he fans will remember the most about these two teams? —Darian S. holds all the cards in any trade situation. If he wants to end his career with the Lightning, and I have no reason to believe he doesn’t, then that’s Well, they’ll always be remembered as a team for the ages. It’s hard to how it’ll play out. He’s also got an $8.5 million cap hit through 2023-24, narrow it down to just one or to players or moments from these special so even if Tampa Bay wanted to trade Stamkos, they’d need to find a teams. I have to imagine the third line of Yanni Gourde (and Blake taker on that contract. Coleman’s diving goals) will always be remembered. As will the stars, from Nikita Kucherov’s prolific postseason, Brayden Point’s goal streak Our Pierre LeBrun reported that the Lightning approached Stamkos last and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s dominance). I’ll probably always look back at offseason about his no-move clause, and the answer was no. BriseBois not only how much fun they had together, but how relentlessly didn’t ask Stamkos to waive his no-move for purposes of the expansion determined they were (Barclay Goodrow holding off four Islanders in draft, and said he fully expects the captain to be in their lineup opening Game 7, Alex Killorn’s block on Jeff Petry). They weren’t going to be night. denied, like the Chicago Bulls’ three-peat teams in the 1990s. Is Stamkos’ role — at least, 5-on-5- declining? Yes, as Stamkos ranked How do you feel about what happened with all the RFAs especially Ross ninth among Tampa Bay forwards in ice time in the playoffs. But Stamkos Colton who may be gone by next week? Was it a better move to sign is still a generational scorer, a major threat on their potent power play, veterans or not? —Marc R. and their biggest dressing room leader. There’s a lot of variables/nuances that would go into a potential Stamkos trade, and, in I think the Lightning got great deals for their RFAs so far, especially Alex the end, he holds all the cards. Barre-Boulet, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk all signing similar three-year deals at around the minimum $758,333 (two-way deal in first Do you see Stamkos retiring any time soon? —Timofey T. year, one-way in second two years). They help Tampa Bay fit under the cap and, by the second or third year, will be bargains. All three could and I don’t see Stamkos retiring before the start of next season, if that’s what should end up playing on the team at some point this year. Even Cal you mean. Would it surprise me if he retired before the end of this current Foote at $850,000 for the next two years is great. contract (expires 2023-24)? No. That doesn’t mean Stamkos will. But Stamkos, 31, has been through a tremendous amount in terms of injuries The one tough signing has been Ross Colton, and I know fans are in his career, from the broken leg to the torn meniscus to blood clot and freaking out a bit on this. Colton is the one Lightning RFA to file for core surgery. I’ve been amazed, and I don’t think he gets enough credit arbitration, which is normal and part of the process. I don’t believe for not only coming back from all that but returning to an elite level. If Tampa Bay will have an issue signing Colton, though it’ll probably be at a Stamkos gets hurt again, let’s say, and doesn’t feel like going through higher number that they wanted. With Colton filing for arbitration, it does another extended rehab, no one would blame him if he decided to hang it mean he can’t get an offer sheet, so that takes one threat away. up. He’s accomplished enough in his career to be a Hall of Famer. He’s got two Cups. He’s also a very proud player and passionately loves the The hearings are scheduled somewhere between August 11 and later game, and will probably play as long as he can. this month, but the Lightning and the Colton camp can continue to negotiate up until then. Evolving-Hockey projects Colton’s contract to be I remember asking Stamkos before this year’s playoffs what keeps a two-year deal with a $1.45 million AAV. Colton was a revelation this pushing him to get through all these rehabs? year with nine goals (12 points) in 30 games this season, plus four goals in 23 playoff games (including the Cup clincher) “It’s definitely not easy,” Stamkos said. “There’s moments where you just feel like you don’t want to have to go through all that stuff because it’s not Now the Lightning are up against the cap (they can be the equivalent of fun, it’s not easy, it doesn’t feel good. But at the end of the day, hockey is Brent Seabrook’s $6.875 million over the cap on opening night, so they’d a passion and a love of mine and you just want to be around the guys want to be as close as possible to that $88.375 million). They’re already and go out there and compete with them. There’s no one more frustrated at $87.095 million with 21 players. Rosters can be anywhere from 20-23, than myself when I can’t be out there helping my teammates. It’s just so Tampa Bay can carry fewer guys to keep the cap number down. extremely painful to not be out there so there’s really no other choice. … There’s still a way to fit Colton in, but it’ll be interesting to see how the “I still feel like I’m young — in terms of age I know I’ve been around a negotiations (or hearings) go. long time — but I’ve just been trying to put in as much work as I can to be out there.” Is Ross Colton ready for a 3C role or is he better slotted with Maroon on the fourth line? —Todd C. Assuming all current rostered players and RFAs get deals (a big if) who do you see being the go to 23 man roster. Specifically among bubble guys like Gemel, Katchouk, Raddysh, Hudon, etc. who do you think will end up having the inside track on consistent time on the NHL roster? – moving Cirelli down to 3C would give us great depth down the middle. Jimmy G. Thanks! —Rashad B. My (way-too-early) early projection for the 23-man roster (which could get I don’t think we’ll see Stamkos as a full-time center; he’s been primarily a as low as 20 for cap purposes) wing the last few years, and it doesn’t sound like that will change. Cirelli is still the 2C with Killorn and Stamkos or, perhaps, Colton. Forwards: Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli, Steven Stamkos, Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph, Pat What do you think is the general sense on Cirelli from the organization? Maroon, Pierre Edouard Bellemare, Corey Perry, Taylor Raddysh, Alex He was pretty highly touted early on but hasn’t exactly been lighting the Barre-Boulet. world on fire since. Is he firmly our 2C of the future or will that be in jeopardy if he has another relatively quiet year? —Moacir F. Defensemen: Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak, Mikhail Sergachev, Zach Bogosian, Jan Rutta, Cal Foote. Cirelli is the Lightning’s 2C, he’s going to be a Selke Trophy candidate for years. He’s a big-game player, too, as you saw in the playoffs. Goalies: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brian Elliott With the addition of Perry and the losses of Gourde, Coleman and Will / can the Lightning bury some of their two-way players in Syracuse to Goodrow. Do you see Perry going on the top PP unit and in turn, that be under the cap? Thought it was odd the Barre-Boulet got a 2 way for moving Killorn back to the top PK unit to help manage minutes? —Gary next year and 1 way for years 2/3. —Max D. B. They can try to bury them in the minors, but Raddysh, Barre-Boulet and I don’t think they change the top power play unit, and Shayna Goldman Katchouk, for example, would need to clear waivers to get sent to AHL and I explained how Killorn is a key piece to it. Perry, however, should Syracuse. There’s a risk there, with those guys on the cusp (and on get time on the second power play unit. He’s got a great net front team-friendly contracts). Tampa Bay could also try to slide Gemel Smith presence and can the ability to provide another scoring threat. (on a two-year deal at $750,000 AAV) through. Joe, what do you see as the primary value Perry brings to the Lightning? We all know we have the best goaltender in the league, but how good is —Bill C. he really? Does it seem possible for (Vasilevskiy) to go down in history as *the best* goaltender, and what would it take for him to make a case Where do I start? Perry may not skate the way he used to, but he’s a for that title? Thanks! —Micah S. strong bottom-six presence and can boost a power play. He’s really hard to play against, especially below the circles and the net front. He’s been I truly believe that Vasilevskiy will end up going down as one of the all- beloved in every place he’s played, from Anaheim to Dallas and time greats. Now keep in mind, Vasilevskiy is only 27 years old. He’s got Montreal, providing leadership to young players. He’s also what they call two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe and a Vezina Trophy. Vasilevskiy will a “shit disturber,” getting under opponents’ skin and holding guys need to continue on that track and maintain the consistency that some of accountable. Guys hate to play against him, but love him when he’s on the other all-time greats had, like , Patrick Roy, etc. But their team. Perry and Maroon were great together on a line in Anaheim considering this Lightning team that Vasilevskiy plays on, it wouldn’t be a (with Ryan Getzlaf), and I can see them together again. surprise to see him get another couple Cups and awards to his resume. What are your thoughts on our new backup goalie? —William R. His mentor, Ben Bishop, broke down Vasilevskiy’s game and why he thinks he’ll be one of the “best all-time.” Brian Elliott, on a one-year, $900,000 deal, was a good pickup. The numbers, just under a .900 save percentage the past two seasons as I agree with him. Flyers backup, weren’t great. But in playing for a better Lightning team, After using the “1 is great, 2 is special” and “Are you full?” lines last year, those should improve. He’s experienced and knows the role well, can be how does Cooper stay motivated and how does he motivate the team in a quiet and steady presence behind Vasilevskiy. We all know Vasilevskiy 2021-22? —Chris M. likes to shoulder a heavy load, but after back-to-back Cups,I can see Tampa Bay trying to spell him a little bit more. There’s the potential of the Being the first team since the 1980s Islanders to three-peat is motivation Olympics in February, where Vasilevskiy would be the starter for Russia, in of itself. You win two, you’re “special,” as Cooper put it. You win three so the Lightning will be keeping an eye on his workload. Elliott, who has in a row, in the cap era? You’d put yourself among the best teams of all made at least 30 starts in each of the last two years, is up for it. time. And, quite frankly, now that they had their “last day of school” and how many of the players have moved on, this could be something BRIAN ELLIOTT SHOULD BE A NEW BACKUP IN TAMPA BAY? Cooper uses too. This is a new team, with several rookies and vets like PIC.TWITTER.COM/HHL4CAZ0UC Perry. I’m sure people will count them out. And who doesn’t love playing the villain, especially after the whole “$18 million over the cap” jokes last — ANDY & RONO (@HOCKEYSTATSCZ) JULY 28, 2021 year. Was Cooper involved at all in the Perry signing considering how much he Are there any updates on whether players can have a day with the cup was raving about him post Stanley Cup Finals? —John A. outside of the U.S. this year? —Brian T. I would be surprised if Cooper wasn’t part of the pitch. Perry said he Yes, it sounds like there will be players and staff able to take the Cup to loved the Lightning “winning culture” and jumped at the chance to land a Canada, at least that’s the plan. There’s still some questions whether two-year term, so there were other factors. But Cooper is a big fan of they’ll be able to bring it to Russia, for example, due to the pandemic. I Perry, as he told him in the handshake line. know how much Victor Hedman wants to take the Cup to his hometown Which of the signings or trades has been your favorite so far and why? of Ovik in Sweden. —Wesley P. @TJOHNNY09'S #STANLEYCUP VISIT IN JUST OVER 30 The sneaky under-the-radar signing I liked was Bellemare. They loved SECONDS…#GOCHIEFSGO #ONCEACHIEF him in Colorado and Vegas, believing he was awesome in the room leadership-wise. He’s a really good penalty killer and face-off man. The ( VICTORY MEDIA) PIC.TWITTER.COM/OOYWTVXQ8Z Lightning lost Coleman, Goodrow and Gourde, and Bellemare can go a — (@SPOKANECHIEFS) JULY 31, 2021 little ways in replacing them in terms of playing tough minutes. Do the additions of two bottom-six vets mean the team is losing faith in BELLEMARE IS A STRONG FOURTH LINE DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST some of their younger prospects like Katchouk, ABB, and Raddysh? As it WITH A NAME SO LONG IT DID NOT FIT PROPERLY ON THE CHART stands now, there is only one spot for those three (two if Joseph’s spot PIC.TWITTER.COM/P1VENAU6RD isn’t cemented). The spot might disappear if they go 11/7 more often. — — DOM AT THE ATHLETIC (@DOMLUSZCZYSZYN) JULY 28, 2021 Justin C. With Gourde gone, do you think Cooper could split Kucherov and Point No, the Lightning aren’t losing faith in those guys. The Raddysh, up, so they could drive their own lines, or are Point and Kucherov Katchouk, Barre-Boulet combo will get every shot to crack the lineup. But inseparable? —David M. when some veteran players like Perry fall into your lap (for $1 million AAV), you take that shot. The Lightning lost a lot of veteran forwards this Point and Kucherov will be staying together. They’re so dynamic as a summer (Gourde, Coleman, Goodrow, Johnson). There will be a blend of duo, and see the game the same way. Why fix what isn’t broken? youth and experience. How many players were a product of Tampa’s farm system, compared to What are the odds we see Cirelli play in that 3C role that Gourde left, other teams around the league. I believe many teams would be dying to moving Stamkos back to 2C with a guy like ABB/Joseph/Colton playing have 4-5 guys ready to crack their lineups. Crazy how the team who just on the RW? Feel like Stamkos is way more effective as a , and won back to back has it. —Stk B. The Lightning development program played a huge role in these back to exact succession plan, but assistants Gilles Bouchard (who won a title in back Cups. the ‘Q’) and Eric Veilleux both have experience. Their lineup was full of homegrown players, from Point, Kucherov and Thanks for your coverage this year Joe. Any plans to write any books in Palat to their second line of Killorn, Cirelli Stamkos. Colton, Vasilevskiy. the future about this era of the team since you began covering it? — The Crunch put out a tweet listing all of their alumni on the team and it Matthew H. was staggering. The pipeline continuing will be a big part of Tampa Bay continuing their run, with the likes of Raddysh, Katchouk, Barre-Boulet, Thank you all for the support! It means the world. And as for a book, stay Foote stepping in. tuned. WHEN WE SAY WE HAVE FUTURE NHLERS, WE MEAN IT. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 #STANLEYCUP | #TAMPACUSE PIC.TWITTER.COM/MCI361U9SZ — SYRACUSE CRUNCH (@SYRACUSECRUNCH) JULY 10, 2021 Joe, what is left for Jon Cooper to accomplish here? Do you think he’ll want to move on to other challenges or do you think he’ll stay here until the day he is eventually fired? —Travis P. Cooper, like BriseBois, has one year left on his contract. I believe both will be in Tampa Bay beyond that. They’ve got something truly special brewing here, and they both love working with each other. BriseBois said there’s not another coach he’d rather be with. Cooper is putting himself in some elite territory as a coach, and he’s the kind of guy who I can see wanting to continue to build on that legacy here. Cooper is also likely a frontrunner to be the head coach for Team Canada in the February Olympics, which will be another incredible challenge and honor. Joe, Brayden Point seems like he’s so humble and level-headed. Do you think he could be our next captain down the road when Stammer retires? —Nate W. Point is one of the most humble superstars you’ll ever meet. We still haven’t spoken to him since he signed his eight-year extension last week. While Point is quiet, he’s spoken up more in the last couple years as a leader. He’d be more of a lead by example type captain. I can see Hedman being the next captain, though, with Stamkos passing the honor off to his best friend and franchise cornerstone. Couldn’t the Bolts had given the same contract as they gave Zach Bogosian? —Pat D. Yes, in theory. The Lightning were still in talks with Schenn until the end there on the first day of free agency, but I think Bogosian entering the mix and calling Tampa Bay was a difference-maker. He’s a great fit with their ‘D’ in how they push the pace. I loved Schenn here too, but he’ll get more opportunity in Vancouver. Who is your favorite as “breakout” player for the Crunch? Last year I would say Sompii was that guy. Maybe he continues? Fortier or Huntington? Secondly where does Alnefelt fall in goalie pecking order? It seems obvious Vasy/Elliot in Tampa but for Syracuse is it Martin/Legace? —Tom H. Watch out for Cole Koepke. I think he’ll be a guy who can play in the NHL in the next year or so. Crunch fans will love him. Same for Simon Ryfors, who will get a chance to make an impression in NHL camp. And Alnefelt will split the net with Lagace. With Jack Eichel available in trade, what do you think a Lightning package for him would possibly look like, however unlikely it would be? —James P. I don’t see Tampa Bay in the mix for Eichel. The Lightning have their $9- $10 million stars already locked in. Joe, how could we let Mitchell Stephens go for such a paltry return? Did we “owe” Yzerman a favor? —Suzette L B. They didn’t “owe” Yzerman a favor. The Lightning needed to clear cap space after signing a couple veteran forwards, and they found a great landing spot for Stephens with Yzerman, who drafted him. Creating cap space is tough to do, and Stephens is a great get for Detroit. Joe – what is your thoughts on how long Benoit Groulx will likely remain in Syracuse before moving to the NHL? His track record for player development seems excellent. How close do you feel he was to receiving an NHL head coaching position at the end of this season? Any feedback on why a team like Arizona or teams in similar positions decided to go another direction? If Benoit is recruited away by the NHL, is there a succession plan in place at Syracuse? Thank you as always for the excellent writing and stories you do. Hands down – you are the best writer at the Athletic. —Jeff S. I believe it’s only a matter of time before Groulx is an NHL coach. He’s a “hockey genius,” according to BriseBois, and a key part of Tampa Bay continuing this run of success. Groulx interviewed in Arizona, and has interviewed for another NHL team in the past. I’m not sure if there’s an 1191296 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs head of amateur scouting joins NY Rangers

Lance Hornby

(L-R) John Lilley, and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lilly is leaving the Leafs to take a job with the Rangers. The Maple Leafs have to fill an important role in their hockey department. John Lilley, who was their director of amateur scouting the past three years and with Toronto in a scouting capacity since 2006, was named director of player personnel and amateur scouting by the New York Rangers on Tuesday. A Leafs official said a replacement has not yet been named. Lilley goes back five general managers to John Ferguson Jr. and more than 100 draft picks for Toronto. The Massachusetts-born Lilley was the head of the Leafs’ U.S. scouting arm before becoming amateur scouting director in 2018. Kyle Dubas let him give the annual draft day assessment to media in recent years, though the job with the Rangers is a promotion Lilley was not in line for with Toronto. The Leafs have traded a number of picks for veterans the past couple of years in an attempt to get further in playoffs. Toronto Sun LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191297 Toronto Maple Leafs him to play on the No. 1 line? Ritchie was sheltered in Boston (60 percent offensive zone start percentage) and suffered when he didn’t have Krejci by his side. He tends to get nailed for a fair number of penalties too. (His 94 minors during the four seasons preceding the last Maple Leafs depth chart 2.0: Roster takes shape with Nick Ritchie, one ranked 10th among all NHL forwards.) Ondrej Kase and David Kampf additions Maybe Keefe, with a new-look defensive unit at his disposal (more on that in a second), stuffs a Ritchie-Matthews-Marner line in the offensive zone, not unlike the way he deployed that unit early last season when By Jonas Siegel Aug 3, 2021 Joe Thornton was kicking around at left wing. Ritchie could play a similar role with Tavares. Can he get the Leafs 15-20 The Maple Leafs roster for the 2021-2022 season appears complete now goals next season as a poor man’s (and vastly more one-dimensional) that Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase have come aboard. Zach Hyman? (Something else to keep in mind: Ritchie played a ton with Kase in Anaheim.) The bones of this team remain the same from last season. There’s fresh talent around the margins though, giving us plenty to explore in the latest If Ritchie is grabbing one spot in the top six, initially anyway, the other edition of the depth chart. could just belong to Bunting. Forwards It was only 21 games, but Bunting showed in Arizona last season that he could be an effective, change-of-pace third wheel alongside skilled 1 linemates. Interested suitors in free agency (there were up to five teams) all envisioned him playing a similar role for their teams — the Leafs Ritchie ($2.5M) included. Matthews ($11.6M) Because he’s willing to get his hands dirty around the net, it’s easy to see Marner ($10.9M) Bunting cashing in on Matthews’ rebound opportunities, and benefiting from all the space he creates. The soon-to-be 26-year-old (his birthday is 2 in September) could slide in next to Tavares as well, and offer the Leafs captain a feistier dimension than he’s had in Toronto. Bunting ($950K) The Leafs, as a whole, have missed an edge like that since Leo Tavares ($11M) Komarov, Roman Polak, and Nazem Kadri departed. Wayne Simmonds brought a bit of it last season in limited action. Nylander ($6.9M) Though he’s got a lengthier track record than Bunting in the NHL (207 3 games), Kase feels like another wild card having played in only three Mikheyev ($1.64M) games last season because of a concussion. He could conceivably play anywhere from line two with Tavares on down. Kampf ($1.5M) The Leafs are betting on Ondrej Kase after a season derailed by injury. Kerfoot ($3.5M) (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sport) 4 It’s been some time since Kase had his lone 20-goal NHL season (2017- 18), but smush together his 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons and you get Simmonds ($900K) 18 goals and 44 points in 85 games. Decent production, in other words. If Spezza ($750K) he can stay healthy — a big question given the significant time he’s missed the past few seasons — he offers middle-six offensive potential Kase ($1.25M) and versatility for cheap ($1.25 million cap hit). X We can’t possibly go any further without mentioning the significance of Zach Hyman’s departure. He was a staple in the Leafs’ top six that Engvall ($1.25M) they’re attempting to replace with a series of calculated (low-risk) bets. Brooks ($725K) The last two seasons he produced at a 31-goal, 61-point pace for 82 Gabriel ($750K) games, doing most of his damage at even strength. None of the forwards the Leafs have brought in can match his combination of skills — from the Others vying for spots: Nick Robertson, Michael Amadio, Joey Anderson, rugged forechecking and defensive know-how to the now reliable Brett Seney, Denis Malgin, Josh Ho-Sang finishing ability around the net. In the system: Rodion Amirov, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Kirill Still, you could argue the Leafs have a better mix of options for top-six Semyonov, Mikhail Abramov, Pavel Gogolev, Pontus Holmberg, Veeti roles than they did at the beginning of last season when Thornton and Miettinen, Nick Abruzzese, Matthew Knies Jimmy Vesey got first cracks alongside Matthews and Tavares. (Keefe initially had Hyman stationed on the third line.) This is going to be interesting. Keefe can go in all kinds of different directions with this group. The depth Suddenly, the Leafs have a lot of NHL forwards, and a lot of spots up for chart you see above is only one of many possible variations. Maybe grabs. Kase gets the first look with Tavares and Nylander, while Bunting slides down to play with David Kampf and Ilya Mikheyev. (Where does Kerfoot Most fascinating: The competition for an opportunity in the top six, with go in that case?) two winger gigs available to be claimed. The Leafs have gotten younger up front, replacing vets like Thornton and Ritchie, Kase, Michael Bunting, and Alex Kerfoot are the likeliest Nick Foligno with the likes of Ritchie, Kase, Kampf, and Bunting — all, candidates. with the exception of Bunting, left unqualified by their previous teams this In his pitch to “second wave” free agents last week, Leafs GM Kyle offseason. Dubas dangled the opportunity to play, potentially, alongside Auston Keefe also has a deeper well of options in the middle beyond Matthews Matthews and and it was Kase, but Ritchie especially, who and Tavares with Kampf and Michael Amadio joining Kerfoot, Pierre bit. Engvall, Jason Spezza, and Adam Brooks. Picked two spots after William Nylander in the 2014 draft, Ritchie signed That Kerfoot no longer must play centre with Kampf around to fill the third a two-year deal with the Leafs, with a $2.5 million cap hit. centre spot is a positive for the Leafs. Kerfoot was wedged in there more The 25-year-old feels like a lock to nab an early look with either out of necessity during his first two seasons in Toronto. Now, it’s likely he Matthews or Tavares. He spent most of last season alongside David moves to the middle only in the case of injuries. Krejci on Boston’s second line and ended up with a career-high 15 goals If he needs it, Keefe knows he’s got a line that works with Kerfoot in only 56 games. (He shot a career-high 12.4 percent.) alongside Tavares and Nylander. Ritchie is a big dude, at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds. He’s physical and can The Leafs barely outscored teams (13-12) the past two seasons with that finish around the net. He could benefit greatly from playing with a passer line on the ice, but underlying numbers were strong (59 percent expected like Mitch Marner (or Nylander). Will Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe trust goals). Because he’s smart, competitive, and at times, slippery in the Brodie ($5M) offensive zone, Kerfoot tends to fit in nicely around Tavares and Nylander. He could also join Kampf on the wing of a defensive unit, or 2 even centre a sheltered fourth line. Muzzin ($5.63M) Here’s the thing: Lines one and two should be powerhouses no matter Holl ($2M) who joins Matthews, Tavares, Marner, and Nylander there. 3 Matthews and Marner were destroying the Canadian division with Thornton chugging around at age 41. Nylander and Tavares got by just Sandin ($894K) fine with Alex Galchenyuk, who was almost out of the league before the Leafs took a chance on him. Dermott ($1.5M) I do wonder if we see more variation on those top two combos next X season — more Nylander with Matthews, for instance, or maybe even a Dahlstrom ($750K) little bit more of Nylander, Matthews, and Marner together. (Keefe went to that well late in the Montreal series in a bid to get Nylander more ice Liljegren ($863K) time.) Others vying for spots: Alex Biega, Brennan Menell, Kristian Rubins, Mac Kampf’s addition won’t help the offence. Hollowell, Teemu Kivilhalme But what he can do — potentially — is absorb some of the defensive In the system: Joseph Duszak, Filip Kral, Topi Niemela, Mikko Kokkonen zone responsibility Matthews was burdened with last season. Because Keefe didn’t trust his other lines all that much, he leaned on Matthews to The Leafs didn’t find a Zach Bogosian replacement after all. And with the do his dirty work, including in the playoffs. (It wasn’t until late in the series (crazy?!?) prices for depth defencemen, who can blame them. that Keefe began starting the Matthews’ line almost exclusively in the o- zone.) One thing all that lunacy reinforced: How shrewd it was to protect Justin Holl from the expansion draft. The Leafs were quite sure they wouldn’t be Matthews’ fellow Hart Trophy finalists got more of a head start: Connor able to replace Holl for $2 million or less and they were quite right. McDavid had an offensive zone start percentage of 63 percent; Nathan MacKinnon was up around 70 percent (!). And still Matthews, and his But back to Bogosian. His loss stings. (A three-year deal to return to Tampa lured him away.) He was steady, experienced help, someone linemate, Marner trailed only McDavid in 5-on-5 scoring. Keefe leaned on to protect late leads and provide security for Travis Imagine what he might accomplish with more chances to jump right down Dermott. the opposition’s throat. Because he hasn’t been replaced, here’s what we can say: With Kampf around, maybe now Keefe can lighten that load with the shutdown line he’s been craving. 1. Rasmus Sandin is about to become an everyday NHLer. You’ll recall that Sandin’s path to playing time was blocked early last season by Blackhawks coach buried Kampf-led lines in the Bogosian, Dermott, and then-newcomer Mikko Lehtonen. That problem defensive zone. In fact, among the nearly 400 forwards to log at least would have persisted had Bogosian returned. 300 5-on-5 minutes last season, Kampf had the 24th lowest offensive 2. Dermott will play more minutes than he did a year ago and do it on the zone start percentage — just under 33 percent. right side. He fared OK. First, Sandin, who’s heading into the final year of his entry-level contract. Chicago was outscored slightly — 21-16 — in those minutes. But dig a little deeper and you see that Kampf ranked high among his team’s It’s a positive for the Leafs that he’s going to play regularly and build forwards (min. 300 minutes) in key defensive metrics — shots, shot upon his 37 games of NHL experience (plus, five more in last year’s attempts, scoring chances, and expected goals against per 60 minutes playoffs). The organization can make a more informed decision on — despite the grueling nightly assignments. Morgan Rielly’s future the more they know about Sandin, and his potential to move into a top-four role by the fall of 2022. He’s boring but safe. The big thing for the 21-year-old will be learning to hang defensively. He Unlike Kerfoot and Engvall, the Leafs most frequent third-line centres last was overwhelmed, at times, by the size and speed of the Canadiens in season, Kampf should actually win more draws than he loses. He won 56 the postseason. percent of his 5-on-5 faceoffs last season. We’ve seen the glimmers of all the other stuff — the vision, the creativity, Kampf is unlikely to provide much offence though. He produced at a rate the power-play prowess. The more comfortable he gets, the more we can last season that barely bested Riley Nash. expect that stuff to come out. Maybe the Leafs stick two moderately skilled, speedy wingers alongside Then there’s Dermott, who averaged just over 13 minutes a game last him — Mikheyev? Kase? — and hope for the odd contribution. season, the slimmest number of his NHL career. He’s likely to inch closer to 15 a night (or more) next season by absorbing Bogosian’s second-unit Will it be enough in the postseason? Only if those top two lines deliver as penalty killing responsibilities. expected. Dermott logged only 22 shorthanded minutes last year. Bogosian totaled One side effect of the additions the Leafs have made: Engvall and over 64. Brooks have been pushed down the depth chart, and maybe even back to the Marlies next season. The Leafs will have no choice but to start trusting Dermott with more. It’s time for him to prove he’s worthy of that trust by making smart, safe The Leafs have 15 NHL forwards in the mix, meaning a couple will have decisions. It’s a win for the Leafs if they come out of next season thinking to go (assuming injuries don’t strike) at training camp. Kurtis Gabriel, a Dermott can actually play in their top four. (Right now, it’s murky at best.) hitting machine, who came aboard on a one-year contract, feels like one candidate. He’s averaged less than seven minutes per game in his 49- Dermott, who signed a two-year contract this offseason ($1.5 million cap game NHL career. hit), isn’t so young anymore. He’ll turn 25 in December. He’s played over 200 games in the league. Keefe may have to choose between Engvall and Brooks for the final spot. Keefe won’t feel the same security with Sandin and Dermott on his third I should mention Nick Robertson and Joey Anderson. Both went into last pair as he did last season with Bogosian there on one side. season as dark horse candidates to make the Leafs. Their odds of cracking the roster right away have dropped heading into next year, Leafs' top three pair usage last season though it’s conceivable that one (Robertson’s the favourite), or both, play games at some point if injuries strike. Rielly-Brodie 15:03 The Marlies are their likeliest destination when the season starts. Defencemen 54% 1 55% Rielly ($5M) Muzzin-Holl 14:54 Frederik Andersen had started 60-plus games by the time postseasons began in 2017, 2018, and 2019. 57% A tandem approach isn’t without flaws. For one thing, it creates 50% uncertainty. Who starts the next game? will become a regular topic of Dermott-Bogosian conversation in Toronto next season. That can make for a noisy atmosphere around the goalies and the head coach making the 9:03 decisions. 60% It’s one thing to split the crease in Carolina. It’s another thing to do it in Toronto. 55% Does a Mrazek hot spell push Campbell out of the way for weeks at a A Sandin-Dermott combo will require more protection. time? Or vice-versa. Does it matter? Keefe is unlikely to drop them out for many defensive zone draws on the It’ll be up to Keefe to keep both goalies happy under a very bright road, or spot Jake Muzzin and Holl the odd spin opposite a top line as he spotlight. did with Dermott and Bogosian. The Leafs entered the previous five seasons knowing Andersen was their Timothy Liljegren likely gets first dibs on any opportunity that springs up guy (last season, tentatively). on the back end. Now, the ballgame has changed. Dubas said it was time to begin “converting” prospects, like Liljegren, into NHL players. Still only 22, Liljegren has made it into only 13 games for Power play the Leafs. He’s struggled with the pace of the NHL game. Matthews Do the Leafs keep him around as an extra if he’s crowded out of the top six, or instead let him keep chow down on huge minutes (again) with the Spezza Marlies? Tavares Menell, Biega, and Carl Dahlstrom rank 8-9-10 in some order. Ritchie Biega and Dahlstrom feel like extra-body-on-the-road candidates, or Nylander otherwise, Marlies. Bunting Biega is 33, with nearly 250 games of NHL experience, including 13 with Detroit last season playing 10-plus minutes a night. Dahlstrom split last Marner season between the AHL and Vegas taxi squad. He’s only 26, a former second-round pick with 64 games of NHL experience, and an option in Simmonds the event of multiple injuries on defence. Rielly Menell is the most interesting of the bunch. Only 24, he dominated the Sandin KHL last season with 38 points in 47 games. Who knows what exactly the Leafs power play will look like next season. Were Liljegren to struggle with another opportunity, or injuries strike, it’s possible he nabs an opportunity. Not unlike Menell, Lehtonen was a KHL Will Keefe opt for one star-stuffed unit (see above), and if he does, how standout when he came to the Leafs. The NHL transition proved too will the puzzle pieces be assembled? Will Nylander finally reclaim a half- difficult for him (at least in the short timeframe the Leafs were working wall spot opposite Matthews — in place of Marner? (I’d argue it’s time to with). make the 25-year-old a more central component.) The difference, of course, is that Menell, an American, came up on the Or, will the Leafs dip their toes into the two-unit approach once more. Will North American ice surface, and has already played in five NHL games Tavares and Marner front a unit of their own in that case? with the Wild. What about Rielly? Will he quarterback the top group, or will Sandin get With Holl sticking around, the top four remains intact. the nod from day one? How will the Leafs make use of Ritchie, who did some damage on Boston’s top unit last season? We outlined the options for Rielly this offseason back in June. It seems a trade is off the table. So the question now is whether the Leafs extend Whatever they come up with, the Leafs need to make better use of all their longest-serving player before the summer runs out, or let things play that talent. out this season. The power play fell off a cliff last season — 30th-ranked from Mar. 1 The Athletic’s own Pierre LeBrun reported that the two sides would talk at onward. More sputtering, including in Game 7, proved costly in the some point this month. playoffs. Goalies Keefe called the power play a major offseason priority for the coaching staff during his season-ending media conference. 1A It’s time to get it fixed. Campbell ($1.65M) Penalty Kill 1B F1 Mrazek ($3.8M) Marner X Kerfoot Hutchinson ($725K) F2 In the system: Joseph Woll; Ian Scott; Erik Kallgren; Artur Akhtyamov; Vyacheslav Peksa Kampf The biggest fish the Leafs reeled in this offseason was Petr Mrazek, who Mikheyev will join forces with Jack Campbell next season. D1 More than likely, the games get split close to evenly. Muzzin Ideally for the Leafs, Campbell and Mrazek both deliver good-to-very- good netminding, and Keefe has two capable options to choose from Brodie come playoff time. D2 At the very least, one guy grabs hold of the lead role. Holl One clear benefit to the tandem approach: The playoff starter won’t be Dermott worn down. The Leafs will need to replace a big cog in Hyman, who led the team’s forwards in shorthanded minutes per game last season (1:58). Expect Kampf to play a prominent role, maybe even alongside Marner on the top group. Mikheyev and Kerfoot will remain integral parts. The Leafs may want to continue employing Spezza in the FOGO role. He won nearly 53 percent of his shorthanded draws last season. Kampf may eat up some of those opportunities. The Leafs killed off only 78.5 percent of opposing power plays last season, a bottom-10 mark overall. How much of that was porous goaltending from Andersen? The Leafs had the fifth-best expected goals against rate shorthanded, for what it’s worth. A new assistant coach will lead the unit next season: Dean Chynoweth, hired to replace Dave Hakstol, who left to run the Seattle Kraken bench. During Chynoweth’s three seasons as an assistant in Carolina, the Hurricanes had the second-best penalty kill in hockey. Perhaps he brings a different approach with him to Toronto. Not to belabor the point, but stiffer resistance in goal would help, and the Leafs now have two of the best from last season (for what that’s worth); Campbell and Mrazek ranked fifth and sixth in shorthanded save percentage among the 69 goalies with at least 40 minutes of action. Andersen sat 68th. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191298 Vancouver Canucks

Canucks make changes to business-side leadership The Canucks are onto their third senior business executive since the departure of Victor De Bonis in 2016

Patrick Johnston

Yet another new face will head up the Vancouver Canucks’ business operations, the NHL team announced Tuesday. Michael Doyle, who had previously led the team’s live entertainment and hospitality operations at , as well as running the Toptable Group, the collection of restaurants owned by the Aquilinis — who also own the Canucks — has been promoted to president of business operations for Canucks Sports and Entertainment. He’s the third person to take over the top executive role for Canucks Sports and Entertainment since Victor De Bonis left in 2016. Doyle will take over the top of the Canucks’ business-side executive pyramid, replacing Trent Carroll, who has been Chief Operating Officer since November 2018, when Jeff Stipec left the COO position with little warning. Stipec, who had talked openly about replacing Rogers Arena’s seats among other things, had replaced De Bonis in 2016. De Bonis’ departure had been a big surprise as well, as he had been the Canucks’ COO since 2007. “The promotion was made with a focus on reshaping the organization and enhancing fan experience as the team prepares to welcome fans back to Rogers Arena and the Abbotsford Centre this fall,” the Canucks said in a news release. Team owner and chairman Francesco Aquilini cited Doyle’s long experience in sports and entertainment as a key asset. “He puts fan experience at the forefront and is always exploring new ways to enhance the excitement and entertainment value for everyone at Rogers Arena. It is a very important year for our organization, our season ticket members, partners and fans. I’m pleased to have Michael leading our team,” Aquilini, who has owned the Canucks since 2004, said in a statement. Doyle has been working in the industry for 30 years. Originally from North Vancouver, he worked for Disney and the Toronto Maple Leafs before joining Canucks Sports and Entertainment a decade ago. On top of his experience running the Aqulinis’ restaurants and events at the arena, Doyle has also been one of the Canucks’ alternate governors for the last three years, along with Carroll, Paolo Aquilini and Roberto Aquilni. (Francesco Aquilini is the governor and attends most league meetings.) Doyle’s hiring comes on the heels of the hirings of a pair of executives for the Abbotsford Canucks last month — Rob Mullowney as chief operating officer and Raj Mutti as vice-president of business operations — as well as one for Rogers Arena in Ed McLaughlin, who was hired as executive vice-president and general manager for Rogers Arena. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191299 Vancouver Canucks “Who knows what the future brings. It’s going to be a fun start,” he said. As for the rest of the summer, Roussel is going to be busy. First he was

heading back to Chicoutimi, Que., where he has his off-season home Ex-Canuck Antoine Roussel heads to Arizona with his head held high and maple syrup orchard. ‘It’s always sad leaving a good place where you had fun and leaving a Then there’s a week of training in Montreal before he heads to France to place where you had some success’ join his homeland’s Winter Olympic hockey qualification campaign. He’s played 39 times for France but hasn’t appeared for Les Bleus since the 2017 World Championships. Patrick Johnston He’ll join his national team teammates for a training camp from Aug. 14 to 17, then the team will travel to Copenhagen for two warm-up games against Denmark on Aug. 20 and 21. In relative terms, renting a house was the easy part. And then it’s off to Riga for three games in four days against Hungary, For Antoine Roussel, one day he’ll look back at the summer of 2021 as a Italy and Latvia. Whoever finishes first in the four-team pool will book a wild one. ticket to Beijing 2022, one of three last-spot qualification tournaments taking place at the end of August. There is the big picture of course. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, where two hockey seasons were disrupted and life in general The winners of four-team pools in Oslo and Bratislava will also qualify, was turned upside down. bringing the Olympic men’s tournament to 12 teams. But then there was his — and his family’s — personal reality: he’d been Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.04.2021 traded. The Vancouver Canucks flipped him, along with teammates and Loui Eriksson and a trio of draft picks to the Arizona Coyotes at last month’s NHL Entry Draft for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland. “It’s always sad leaving a good group of guys. It’s always sad leaving a good place where you had fun and leaving a place where you had some success,” Roussel told Postmedia last week as he was heading home to Quebec after a quick house-hunting trip to Arizona. “Good for them, they’re going to have a good club. I think they see the potential of the division,” he added about the trade, which saw the Canucks make a big bet on the highly-paid Ekman-Larsson rediscovering some of the form that made him one of the league’s best defencemen, along with Garland, an in-his-prime offensive dynamo. Roussel had signed in Vancouver in the summer of 2018. His first season in blue and green went really well, scoring 31 points in 65 games, a career high. And then he blew out his knee and then things were never quite the same. “The first year (2019-20) when I came back, I wasn’t quite ready. I know I’ve said that before but I really I meant that,” Roussel said. “Points-wise I had a decent season (seven goals, six assists in 41 games). But I felt like I was awful.” He played every game in the playoffs for the Canucks, picking up a pair of goals, but his usage — consigned to fourth line minutes — spoke to his overall season. In the abbreviated 2020-21, he again was mostly a fourth-liner but he felt his play was much closer to what he wanted it to be. Still, he wasn’t ignorant of his situation. He was one of several players on big salaries in depth roles who weren’t producing, a far-from-optimal situation for any team. “Last season my skating was there and my role was better but the puck wasn’t there. I wasn’t producing enough for my salary. But I have no regrets at all with my commitment. My commitment, I felt, was really good even if I wasn’t getting points,” he said. After his trade to the desert, there was plenty of discussion among fans and media alike about Roussel’s consistent good nature. No matter whether he was speaking with reporters or meeting fans, he always left a positive impression. “Fans in Vancouver know their hockey. They love their team and want the team to do well. When I meet a fan it’s special. If I was a fan, like having a casual conversation with one of the players, I put myself in those peoples’ shoes,” he said of his consistent good nature. “We had a couple guys like that, Jay Beagle was like that too. When you meet people, you just want them to feel welcome. I love the fans there. I’d also like to thank the organization for giving me a chance. Also for the players, Kathy and Bobby was exceptional for us. They’ll know who they are.” While sad to leave Vancouver, Roussel said he was excited that a good friend like Beagle was going with him to Arizona.” “It makes things more fun, I think Jay coming with me, we bonded really well at the start but even better at the end. Our families got to know each other really well,” he said. They’re even looking at renting houses next door to each other. 1191300 Vancouver Canucks Highmore ultimately still has an inside track on the everyday job as his speed and disruptive ability have endeared him to the organization, but Di Giuseppe’s a quality fourth line option who should genuinely challenge for the role as well. Canucks offseason depth chart: New-look defence, high-end top-9 and where Vancouver stands after free agency Of course, there will be a few candidates for this spot who appear listed in other positions on this depth chart — Nic Petan and Justin Dowling have both played a lot of left wing in their professional careers — not to mention that Motte is a lefty, who could bump over to his strong side, By Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal Aug 3, 2021 should a right-wing candidate like William Lockwood, Justin Bailey or Zack MacEwen make an undeniable case to be in the opening night lineup at training camp. The Vancouver Canucks went to work on free agent frenzy day. There’s going to be a ton of competition for the few remaining vacant Over the course of a dizzying few hours, the club signed 17 free agent forward spots up front and the fourth-line left wing spot would appear to players. The Canucks reconstructed their blue line, added a veteran be the most contested battleground. backup goaltender and fleshed out their depth, adding a ton of fringe NHL-level talent that will raise the big club’s floor and fill out an American As a new addition, we also included 2019 sixth-round pick Karel Plasek, League roster in Abbotsford that — on paper anyway — looks like a who was signed by the team to an entry-level contract in June. Plasek serious contender in the AHL’s Western Conference. skates well and processes the game at a high level, and he’ll be Abbotsford bound to develop his game this upcoming season. There were moves made by Vancouver last Wednesday that we liked more than others, but there’s no denying that the club accomplished an CENTRE awful lot. Elias Pettersson Now as our attention turns to the work that still remains for the Canucks Bo Horvat this offseason — second contracts for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, in particular, are poised to dominate the local conversion for the Jason Dickinson next seven weeks — it’s time to begin by working through what all of these new signings mean for the club. Brandon Sutter It’s time now for The Athletic’s Vancouver bureau to go position-by- Justin Dowling position, once more, updating our Canucks offseason depth chart. Nic Petan (Note: Restricted free agents are shaded blue in the tables below) Sheldon Dries LEFT WING John Stevens J.T. Miller Carson Focht Vasili Podkolzin The centre position is probably the Canucks’ most unsettled at this Tanner Pearson juncture in the offseason, as both Pettersson and Jason Dickinson are awaiting new deals. Matthew Highmore Negotiations with Pettersson are ongoing and there was no Sebastian Philip Di Giuseppi Aho style Day 1 offer sheet, but the club still needs to execute that deal. If the ambition is to put the 2021 campaign behind them and make the Jonah Gadjovich playoffs in 2022, then the incentive is sky high to get Pettersson’s Karel Plasek contract done before training camp. The Canucks bolstered their back end and added depth to the fringes of The skilled centre will turn 23 in November, so he’s about to enter his their roster, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we kept the same top- true statistical prime. When he’s healthy and at his best, Pettersson is nine combinations from last time. One tweak we decided to make upon nothing less than one of hockey’s most efficient finishers and assertive further thought and conversation, however, was to flip Vasili Podkolzin two-way players. As Pettersson goes, so go the Canucks. and Conor Garland so that both forward are slotted in to play on their Horvat is extraordinarily well-positioned, perhaps for the first time in his strong sides. Both can play either wing, but it’s probably ideal to match career, to play the sort of role his abilities are best suited to with side with handedness. linemates skilled enough to help him elevate his game and offensive It’s going to be interesting to see which one of Podkolzin and Tanner production. Pearson ultimately wins the spot next to Horvat at camp. Nils Höglander, Horvat shouldn’t be thrown to the wolves to make it easier for his other who we’ve slotted on the right wing for this depth chart, would be another teammates this coming season, particularly now that Pettersson is 23 option and, in fact, would have the highest offensive potential among the and that the club has a third-line pivot like Dickinson in the lineup. Also three — at least next season. Like we mentioned last time, we’re not sure with the likes of Podkolzin, Garland added to the mix as options — along how likely Travis Green is to roll two undersized wingers next to Horvat. with Horvat’s usual running mates in Höglander and Pearson — the club Conversely, Podkolzin and Pearson both fit a similar stylistic bill as has weapons to legitimately surround Horvat on a potential second line responsible two-way wingers who have plus size, are good on the walls without breaking up the Lotto line trio. and on the forecheck and play with attention to detail. Podkolzin has If it all comes together, we can expect big things from Horvat this season. more of a playmaking bent to his game compared to Pearson, who’s a high volume shooter, so that may make the former a better offensive fit Dickinson filed for arbitration over the weekend, a no-brainer considering with Horvat and Garland who are shoot-first players, but it’s tough to that he logged top-six ice time for the Dallas Stars last season after know exactly how good the 2019 No. 10 pick can be until we see him on appearing in 27 playoff games during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. North American ice in camp. We’ll have time to unpack the specifics of Dickinson’s arbitration case in Beneath them, Matthew Highmore has a little bit more competition for the the weeks ahead, and we’ll do so, but the club would prefer to reach a fourth-line left wing role with the signing of Phil Di Giuseppe. medium-term type settlement well in advance of the hearing and that remains the most likely outcome. The 27-year-old was once one of the top prospects in the Hurricanes’ system. While he’s never fulfilled the enticing offensive ceiling that made One thing to keep an eye on is that some of the Dickinson contract him an early second-round pick in 2013, he is a veteran of 201 NHL comparables that have come in recently — Teddy Blueger (2 years, $2.2 games, most recently with the New York Rangers. Di Giuseppe plays million AAV) and Ivan Barbashev (2 years, $2.25 million AAV), who both with bite and edge — he’s thrown 116 hits in 51 games over the last two signed in late July and have similar defensive profiles and modestly seasons, a per game rate that would rank second behind only Tyler better counting stats — would appear to be favourable from Vancouver’s Motte among Canucks forwards. He’s also quietly been a decent bottom- perspective. six producer offensively. The raw point totals definitely don’t leap off the page, but he’s chipped in with 1.31 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five Brandon Sutter defied industry expectations and re-signed for $1.125 over his NHL career, which is a very respectable rate for a fourth-liner — million in Vancouver. With a modest cap hit for the first time in his better than what Highmore’s managed in his career. Vancouver tenure, Sutter is appropriately slotted in the cap picture and seems like a good fit as a fourth-line pivot with the versatility to play on forecheck as part of a dump and chase strategy. It’s a playstyle that the wing in a pinch. involves fast north-south movement and excels with quick, disruptive wingers who are relentless on the forecheck. One would suspect it’s the Signed to a two-year, one-way contract, Dowling would appear to have reason Motte’s been such a good fit and why Highmore was given so the inside track on Vancouver’s 13th forward spot, which makes sense much opportunity during the second half of the season. considering his combination of skills and versatility. The 30-year-old pivot has experience lining up at both wing and centre and has managed solid The Canucks’ system plays right into Lockwood’s hands, given that he’s defensive results. He’ll be in the mix for that fourth-line left wing spot and a speed demon and loves to lay the body to create havoc on the would seem to be the first man up in the event of injuries down the forecheck. He already left a strong impression at camp last year as well middle. as in the two games he appeared in at the end of last season. Petan will compete for a job at the NHL level at both left wing and centre Danila Klimovich, Vancouver’s second-round pick this year, was swiftly spots. He’s got a relationship with Green dating back to their time with signed to an entry-level contract last week. The Belarusian scoring Portland in the WHL and has appeared in 136 NHL games. winger is expected to come to camp — although the club may opt to loan him to a KHL team instead — and while it will be fascinating to see how Petan has managed sturdy two-way results in his NHL minutes, but he’s he fares should he remain in North America, it’s extremely unlikely that got the profile of a tweener — a bottom-six calibre player with a top-six he’ll win an NHL spot. forward’s body and skill set — which has caused him to spend a fair bit of time in the American League. At that level, he’s a point per game player. Klimovich has a high ceiling with his excellent shot, above-average size Expect him to get a long look at Canucks training camp. and good puck skills, but most in the industry expect him to be a long- term project. His skating, in particular, will need to come a long way Sheldon Dries was an Avalanche farmhand who appears to have been before he can be effective at the highest level. The question the club has signed with Abbotsford in mind but could yet make an impact on the to weigh, really, is where is the best development environment for Canucks roster — both as an injury call-up or if he can make a strong Klimovich so that he can level up his game to push for an NHL roster case at training camp. Like Petan and Dowling, Dries has the versatility spot by the third year of his entry-level deal. to play on the wing or at centre and is a solid two-way player at the American League level capable of holding down a spot-duty role at the LEFT DEFENSE NHL level while having a neutral two-way impact. Quinn Hughes Converted from an AHL contract to a two-way NHL contract, John Stevens is a defensive centre at the American League level who has Oliver Ekman-Larsson impressed the organization immensely since he was acquired a few Jack Rathbone years back in a no-cost trade. More of a shooter than a playmaker, Stevens excels on the penalty kill and in the faceoff dot, a couple of skills Brad Hunt that may earn him an NHL shot as a defensive specialist down the line. Olli Juolevi Carson Focht had a decent first professional season in the watered-down American League with Utica last year. The club has been high on him in the past, but it’s clear that he’s seen as need some additional Devante Stevens development time. He’ll be well insulated in Abbotsford considering all of the centre depth the club added in free agency over the past week. The top four jobs on the left side are cemented with Quinn Hughes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The only thing to watch for here will be to see RIGHT WING how Ekman-Larsson’s arrival could affect the way the club deploys Brock Boeser Hughes. Hughes led Canucks defenders in average ice time last year but depending on how highly the organization thinks of Ekman-Larsson, the Conor Garland latter could emerge as the club’s most used blueliner. Nils Höglander Further down the depth chart, the battle for Vancouver’s third pair role is shaping up to be a three-player race. Jack Rathbone was a strong Tyler Motte favourite to win the job after his sparkling cameo with the big team at the Justin Bailey end of last season but Brad Hunt’s signing changes the equation somewhat. Zack MacEwen We still think Rathbone is the front-runner, but Hunt is a highly William Lockwood serviceable puck mover who’s historically managed strong play-driving results as a No. 6/7 defenceman. Hunt isn’t just a decent fill-in, his track Danila Klimovich record suggests he can be an effective everyday NHL player. Sheldon Rempal All of this will ratchet up the competition for Olli Juolevi. The Canucks As they have on the left flanks, the Canucks have a clearly defined top remain bullish on the Finnish defender but it’s imperative that he puts his nine on the right side of their forward group too. best foot forward because he’ll have to pass through waivers this year in order to be reassigned to the AHL. Vancouver will likely only carry four The exact lines and roles will be defined at camp, but having Brock left-handed defencemen on the main roster next season which means Boeser, Garland and Höglander as the club’s top three right-wingers is a that one of Rathbone, Hunt or Juolevi will probably be sent down to the no-brainer. minors. Motte’s job on the fourth line is also practically a lock considering his Would the Canucks be willing to waive their 2016 No. 5 pick if Rathbone excellent wheels, defensive and penalty killing value and physical and Hunt both fare better than Juolevi at camp? presence. Motte has spent most of his Canucks career on right wing but has played both wings and might be more dangerous against the grain The only other change below the NHL level is the signing of Devante attacker on his strong side — which is he where he lined up for most of Stephens. Born in White Rock, Stephens is a 2015 Sabres pick who’s his games in the 2020 playoffs, where he was a crucial X-factor. split time between the AHL and ECHL. This will be an opportunity for him to establish himself as a full-time AHLer. So while we know that Motte, if healthy, will be counted on to drive Vancouver’s fourth line, it remains to be seen whether he’ll lineup at left RIGHT DEFENSE or right wing. His versatility — not to mention that Sutter can move to right wing and is effective in that spot — will result in fierce competition among the remaining Vancouver forwards seeking to cement themselves Tucker Poolman in the club’s opening night lineup. Lockwood is the dark horse to watch here, he could leapfrog Justin Bailey and Zack MacEwen by the end of training camp and perhaps beat Luke Schenn out the likes of Petan, Dowling and Highmore as well. Brady Keeper Lockwood doesn’t have the track record or AHL offensive profile of the Madison Bowey other fourth-line contenders. On another team, he may not be a close contender for an NHL roster spot. With the Canucks, he’s a perfect fit for the style they like to play. Green’s system relies on an ultra-aggressive Jett Woo he’s built like, but isn’t. What Burroughs is, however, is just a competent depth player. He’s smart, he players tougher than his listed size, he’s The Canucks entered the 2021 campaign talking up the readiness of positionally sound and he’s earned trust and minutes at every step he’s players like Brogan Rafferty and Jalen Chatfield on the right side of their taken in his professional hockey career. On a two-way deal, Burroughs defence. There will be no need for similarly hopeful projections this would seem Abbotsford bound but could make a strong case to see NHL offseason. action with a solid showing at camp. The Canucks went to work on the right side of their defence when the Jett Woo impressed the organization at training camp last winter and was market opened last week, extending Travis Hamonic right before adding solid at the watered-down American League level. The club will hope he four new bodies in Tucker Poolman, Luke Schenn, Brady Keeper and has a really strong training camp and takes another step this season. If Kyle Burroughs. he’s going to start pushing for an NHL roster spot, the time is now for his Hamonic spent the majority of his time on ice with Hughes last season game to take a big step forward. and projects to fill that role again. The veteran defender’s defensive GOALTENDER results bounced back a bit last season and he was effective on the penalty kill in his first year with the Canucks, although the Hughes- Hamonic pair didn’t seem to help generate as much as the club managed to in 2019-20 with Hughes-Tanev. In fairness, it’s not like a lack of Jaroslav Halak sustained offensive pressure was solely a Hughes-Hamonic problem for Michael DiPietro the 2021 Canucks. Spencer Martin While the Hughes-Hamonic pair was narrowly outscored and was pretty consistently out-chanced in 2021 overall, considering the context — Arturs Silovs Hamonic’s unusually long pandemic layoff, his early season injury, the fact that anything that occurred after the outbreak is polluted and of It’s Thatcher Demko’s net. He’s Vancouver’s starter and could push for minimal evaluative value — one can understand the bet the Canucks are 60 starts this season. Demko has done some spectacular things in his placing here. NHL career at this point — the Vegas series and March 2021 are already serious parts of Canucks lore — but this will be a new challenge for the Perhaps with some added familiarity, a more normal offseason and an club’s prized, young netminder. overall club level return to form, Hamonic and Hughes can do consistently in 2021-22 what they only hinted at occasionally in the first Jaroslav Halak was brought in to platoon with Demko. The 36-year-old shortened season of their partnership. puck stopper has been one of the NHL’s most consistent goalies over the past decade, but his results slipped a bit last year. And he won’t be We expect the newcomer Poolman to get the first look on a primary playing behind Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins in Vancouver matchup pair with Ekman-Larsson. His combination of speed and next season. Halak should be able to handle spot duty as Vancouver’s defensive acumen — at least in the Canucks’ evaluation of the player — backup and the club is betting a lot that he can. seems to be a better fit for the Canucks’ signature offseason acquisition than Hamonic (who has the defensive acumen, but not Poolman’s speed) Michael DiPietro will be Abbotsford’s workhorse, a welcome relief after a or Myers (who has the speed, but not the defensive acumen). 2021 season that was a bit of a lost development year for one of Vancouver’s top prospects. DiPietro has a clear path to the NHL — Myers appears third on this depth chart, as he often has in line rushes in particularly given Halak’s bonus structure and Braden Holtby’s 2022-23 his two Canucks seasons, but make no mistake, his usage is unlikely to buyout penalty — but first, he has to build on his 2019-20 performance in be third pairing over the balance of the campaign. Myers might not play Utica, which was stellar. in a designated matchup role, but he tends to play top-pairing minutes for the Canucks, with a hearty dose of second power-play and penalty killing Spencer Martin is an experienced minor league backup, with some NHL ice time. We’d expect him to get close to that again, despite the experience. The Canucks acquired him from Tampa Bay in a little- revamped right side. noticed move over the weekend for future considerations but he has AHL backup written all over him. Myers will likely start the year paired with one of the younger left-handed defenders in Juolevi or Hughes, or partner up with Hunt on a third pair Martin has some Canucks connections — he’s Gadjovich’s brother-in-law that could do some serious offensive damage deployed against tertiary — and was signed to a two-way contract through the 2021-22 campaign competition. at just over $100,000 at the American League level. The no-cost trade, then, gave the Canucks some cost certainty and some options, in Schenn has played a depth role for the back-to-back Stanley Cup addition to acquiring a goaltender who is still relatively young and who champion Tampa Bay Lightning, appearing in games here and there, and the club thinks highly of. getting solid defensive results while playing a physical game. He’ll add some NHL-level credibility, size and reliability in the event of injuries and What does that mean, however, for Arturs Silovs? The 20-year-old depth has some experience caddying for Hughes from the tail end of the 2018- netminder is an Ian Clark favourite and a prospect the organization 19 campaign. prizes, but the Martin acquisition would seem to edge him out of Abbotsford. Keeper is as aggressive and physical as any player you’re likely to find in the contemporary NHL. There are some questions about his foot speed A top-line consideration for the club is finding a way to get Silovs playing and puck skills, but the foot speed knock isn’t universally shared. There time. He’s still young, but he’s only appeared in one game in North are no questions, however, about his character, competitiveness or American hockey over the past 18 months. How that will be physical edge. accomplished wasn’t immediately clear in asking around a bit over the weekend, but playing in the ECHL or a European loan would be the most The 25-year-old was on the fringes of the NHL lineup with the Florida obvious routes. Panthers for the past few seasons, but couldn’t break into a pretty deep group, which made him a Group VI UFA. The Canucks have had eyes on The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 Keeper for a while, even inviting him to a development camp a few years back, and signed him to a multi-year one-way contract when the market opened. Minutes could be tough to come by if Vancouver’s right-handed defenders stay healthy, but Keeper has a real shot at hanging around an NHL roster as a seventh or eighth defender. Madison Bowey was lost in a numbers game down the stretch last season. The club opted to call up the likes of Kole Lind, Lockwood, Gadjovich and Rathbone with their post-deadline call-ups down the stretch, which left Bowey to linger on the taxi squad. It seems likely that Bowey is positioned similarly this upcoming season. Certainly, the club’s aggressiveness in locking in some fringe NHL right- handed defenders like Burroughs and Keeper have put Bowey in a tough spot, with a lot of traffic to navigate if he’s going to earn minutes for Vancouver next season. Burroughs is a bright two-way defender, but a bit of a tweener. He’s undersized for a defensive defender, which is what he is, and lacks the flash and dynamism of an offensive puck mover, which is the player type 1191301 Websites What is your favourite part of being on this side of the player/media divide?

It’s easier on the body. Not nearly as many injuries. I think it’s the The Athletic / Q&A: ESPN analyst Rick DiPietro on NHL buyouts, Simone interaction. One of the coolest parts for me — because I’m a huge sports Biles, and the story behind his Twitter handle fan — is getting to go to Jets training camp and meeting the coach and the general manager and picking their brain. Or when I was doing stuff for the Islanders, getting to see some old faces and old coaches and players that I played with. The radio is my favourite. It’s more of a longer By Sean Fitz-Gerald Aug 3, 2021 format. You get into a lot of conversations. How might your experience on the ice and in the dressing room influence On a midsummer afternoon, far from any arena or radio studio, Rick the perspective you pass along to your viewers and listeners? DiPietro was just a father dealing with some broken marine equipment. It Quite a bit. I have a six-year-old son now who really likes hockey. I’m was a jet-ski that was the problem. coaching high school hockey, too. If you name it, I feel like I’ve already “Decided to kick the bucket,” he said “It was a mess.” experienced it. In the moment, that’s not really something you’re thinking about. Injuries, concussions. Whatever you want, I’ve probably They had to tow it to shore to charge the battery. experienced it. “We’re good,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s a family vacation.” Why is it that so many goalies still seem to be working as analysts on television? Work will return soon enough, when the 39-year-old takes another step into his second career this fall, as an NHL analyst within ESPN’s new Part of it is that you get to see the whole game, right? You see it in talent roster. DiPietro will join Ray Ferraro, Hilary Knight and more than baseball, too. A lot of really good baseball managers were catchers. You 20 other experts as the U.S. cable sports monolith embarks on its new see it now in the NFL where a lot of the head coaches are starting to get seven-year deal with the league. more like special teams coaches, because they work with the defence and the offence. He has already established his voice in media, working as a morning show host with an ESPN station in New York. DiPietro might be better Minnesota bought out two long-term contracts earlier this summer, with known for his first career: As a star prospect taken first overall by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. How might that impact a player mentally? New York Islanders in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. It’s tough. It’s not easy. For me, it was devastating. I’ll never forget the Six years later, he signed a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million that day I got put on waivers. Hell, I spent the whole plane ride to Buffalo in should have had him in goal as the Islanders returned to prominence. the back of the plane kind of sitting there, crying, not knowing what was Except his story took a detour. It was his body that gave out on him, next. It’s a scary thought, not knowing if I was going to keep playing. I stranding him as he approached what should have been his prime. always thought that I would be an Islander for life, and that was the only team I ever wanted to play on. Once I got bought out, it was, ‘Do I try to New York bought him out of his deal in 2013 and will continue to pay him resuscitate my career and play somewhere else?’ Or, ‘This is it.’ It ended $1.5 million a year through the 2028-29 season. The move soured him up that my body, it was done. I couldn’t do it anymore. There isn’t a day on the business, but the sport eventually drew him back. that goes by that I don’t think about that day, and what could have been. DiPietro took time out of his vacation to field questions from The Athletic, In 2013, you spoke about depression: What is your reaction to the news talking about NHL buyouts, Simone Biles and the story behind his of Simone Biles in Tokyo, and the level of discourse around mental unusual Twitter handle. health in elite athletes all these years later? (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) My sister-in-law is a doctor who deals with mental health, and she’s really How did you end up with @Hdumpty39 as your Twitter handle? into the sports aspect of it. It’s something you take for granted. You spend so much time training your body and doing your sports-specific Ooh, that’s a good one. When Twitter started, it wasn’t something I was stuff, that by the end of it, it was one of the things I struggled with the really interested in becoming too involved with. But I was kind of most. It wasn’t even the depression afterward when I was done. It was interested to see what other people were saying. I was like, “I’ll make a the anxiety leading up to playing games. I think a lot of athletes deal with name up.” Me and my wife went back and forth. And I was like, “You that. I couldn’t even imagine now, to be honest. I see it during the radio, know, since I’ve been hurt all the time, let’s go with Humpty Dumpty.” I with the stuff on Twitter. I couldn’t even imagine being Simone Biles. Men break apart, they put me back together. It stuck. My first radio job was and women — professional athletes — it’s a lot of pressure. with Alan Hahn. “Hahn and Humpty” sounded good together, so we kept it. Why do you think we — the sports-consuming public — still seem to have trouble showing sympathy to athletes who are open about their Do you think you’ll ever change it back to your real name? struggles? Probably not, naw. I think we’re too far along in the process now to Money and the fame is a big part of it, for sure. I think people who watch change it. sports want to see their favourite athletes compete. I think a lot of them say to themselves, ‘If you paid me all that money to play a sport for a What would Rick DiPietro, the broadcast veteran, tell Rick DiPietro the living, I wouldn’t allow something like that to stop me from doing it.’ But first overall pick in 2000? it’s not always apples to apples. They’re in a spot now where they can’t get away from it. If you choose to be active on social media or check your That’s a great question. I would say, “Be humble.” I would say, “The social media … I know, toward the end of my career, there were guys media is your friend.” I would say, “Don’t try to get to the third period of a who would go check their phones at intermission. There’s nowhere to run preseason game and blow your knee out.” I would probably give that from it. advice. That was what kind of ended it for me. I think the biggest thing for me, having the chance to do this job now, is having the interaction with How did you cope with the pressure? fans. In the moment, when you’re an athlete and you’re hurt all the time and you have high expectations for yourself, people are critical. But now, It was something I struggled with my entire career. I had a chance to on the other side of it, I can understand it. work with some really good sport psychologists who helped. But it was the nervous energy the entire day. It was going over every play in my On July 1, actor Ryan Reynolds promoted a commercial starring Bobby mind. It was not answering my phone. It was being on a schedule where I Bonilla, who was picking a bit of fun at “Bobby Bonilla Day”: Would you would eat at a certain time, and I would sleep at a certain time. Once the ever entertain a pitch like that if you were approached? puck dropped, it would kind of subside. But it was tough, man. And I think a lot of athletes struggle with that. No. I’ve been able to kind of sneak under the radar with that. I’d like to keep it that way. What is your relationship like with hockey these days? What role will you have with ESPN as it begins its new partnership with It’s getting better. Just because my son’s playing now, and I’m coaching. the NHL next season? It wasn’t great for a while. Having my son now enjoy it, and realizing how much I love coaching. I had an opportunity to coach a high school team I think it’s going to be as a studio analyst. We had a phone call here on Long Island, Portledge. Last year was my second year doing it. yesterday, kind of just touching base, trying to figure everything out. We’ll Just to go back and watch kids that age, and how much they enjoy it. have another meeting leading up to it, and kind of figure out the Even just the little things: Practising a set play off a faceoff, and then to schedules. see it actually happen in a game. Instantly, I fell back in love with it. Do the kids ask you about your career, or are you just Coach Rick? Listen, I’m an open book with them. Whatever they need to ask, whatever I can do to help, I’m always available. Will you coach your son? I’m coaching him now. We’ll see how that works. So far, it’s OK. You know how they are. You can tell them exactly what they should do, and they’ll say, ‘Yeah, OK.’ Then the coach will tell them to do it and they’ll do it: ‘Oh, this is great.’ And you’re like, ‘I just told you that.’ The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191302 Websites easy points. But there were a handful of big names that turned out to be entry-killers.

We had a total of six changes on the coaching side, including David The Athletic / Down Goes Brown prediction contest results: Did anyone Quinn (who was on about 60 entries), Claude Julien (30) and Geoff Ward have a perfect entry? Would that be enough to win? (25). Only two entries in the entire contest included Rick Tocchet, although 40 of you had John Tortorella and somehow 20 had Ralph Krueger. By Sean McIndoe Aug 3, 2021 The GM side was more stable, with only two changes, but both were big surprises. Jim Rutherford’s resignation took out 40 entries while Jeff Gorton’s late-season firing did the most damage yet, resulting in 135 Seven months ago, days before opening night of the 2021 regular entries taking a zero on the question. season, I decided to try something new: A prediction contest, one in Taken together, Questions 3 and 4 were tougher than the first two, and which readers would make their picks for what would and wouldn’t more entrants chose to play it safe by opting for fewer than the maximum happen during the upcoming season. five answers. But as it turns out, this was another case where you The idea was simple. I’d ask eight questions, all of them relatively needed to bank some big points — at least 10 per question, and straightforward. You’d choose how many answers you wanted to give, preferably the full 15 — to stay in the running. Fortune favored the bold with the option of playing it safe or going aggressive to chase higher on the first four questions; if you had the full 60 points in the bank you point totals. But the twist was that even one wrong answer hit you with a were feeling good while taking a zero anywhere meant you were playing zero for a question, so you had to be sure. for pride the rest of the way. The questions were designed to seem easy, but every NHL season Here’s where the contest really got started … serves up a few surprises. The easy answers are always so obvious, 5. Name up to five goaltenders who will definitely start at least 60 percent right up until they’re not. So how confident did you feel? of their team’s regular-season games this year. I’ll admit, I didn’t think the concept all the way through, especially when it This one basically boiled down to “Name some goalies who’ll stay came to tallying up the results. I’d have to do that by hand, which could healthy and keep their job” and it ended up being just about my favorite get tricky. But I figured I’d get a few dozen entries, maybe even over 100 one in the contest. A goalie needed 34 starts to qualify, and with 15 if people really seemed to like the idea, and that would be manageable. names hitting that mark, almost half the league’s starters ended up being Then over 800 of you entered. Whoops. correct answers. That list included some obvious picks, including Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck, Jacob Markstrom, Jordan Binnington Ah well, what’s one more addition to my “overly complicated and John Gibson. And in fact, more than a few entries featured those spreadsheet” folder. After digging through the entries, I think I’ve found exact five names, banking 15 points. the highest scores, including our winner. Did anyone manage to pull off a perfect entry, with points on all eight questions? We’ll get there, but first, That said, there were also more than a few “obvious” picks that didn’t let’s walk through the questions and how you all did. make the cut, and this was the first question where we saw some real carnage. Sergei Bobrovsky was responsible for way more zeroes in this First, a reminder on the rules. The contest consisted of eight questions, contest (about 140) than he was on opponent’s scoreboards. Matt and entrants had the option of giving anywhere from one to five answers Murray took out over 100 entries, Carey Price was on the hook for over to each. You got one point for the first correct answer, two for the second 200 and Frederik Andersen topped that with 250. (for a total of three), all the way up to five points for the fifth (for a maximum of 15 points for a 5-for-5 answer). But even one wrong answer But the big name here was Carter Hart, who showed up on over 400 hit you with a zero for the entire question. entries. He was pretty much the perfect illustration of what this contest was trying to remind us. Coming into the season, it seemed The first two questions were straightforward and, as it turned out, the inconceivable that a healthy Hart wouldn’t be the Flyers’ go-to guy. He easiest ones to run the table on. was 22 and had two very good seasons under his belt, and was backed up by creaky veteran Brian Elliott. If anything, you’d have bet on Hart to 1. Name up to five teams that will definitely make the playoffs this year. be a Vezina candidate before you’d think he’d lose his full-time starter’s 2. Name up to five teams that will definitely not make the playoffs this job. But he did, posting awful numbers, and was going to miss our cutoff year. even before he was shut down due to injury at the end of the season. Sometimes, the surest of sure things don’t go the way we’re all I figured that both questions would be harder than they seemed, since expecting. just about every NHL season sees at least one team that everyone thinks will be good bottom out, and at least one that everyone writes off ends up Question 5 may have ended up being the most important one in the making a surprise playoff run. But that didn’t really happen this year. contest. There were 10 or 15 points there for the taking, and plenty of you did exactly that. But most of you had at least one of Hart, Price or Question 1 had a couple of teams to watch out for, as the Blues made a Andersen on your entry and took a zero that knocked you out of the few of you nervous, as did the Bruins, but both ended up being safe running. picks. The Flyers didn’t, and they showed up on over 100 entries, along with the Stars on almost 50. Those two teams were responsible for most 6. Name up to five rookies who will definitely finish in the top 10 of Calder of the zeroes on this question, but for the most part, everyone went with balloting this year. obvious teams like the Lightning, Avalanche, Golden Knights and Maple Hoo boy. Leafs, and there were lots of 5-for-5s here. Yeah, this one was a wasteland, thanks to a lackluster season from top Question 2 ended up being even easier. Just about everyone went with pick Alexis Lafrenière. He appeared on over 700 entries, one of the some mix of the seven teams that had missed the expanded postseason highest totals of any answer in the contest, and I spent the season in 2020, and all seven missed the playoffs this year too. A handful of you wondering if he might show up on enough Calder ballots to crack the top took teams like the Wild and Panthers, and there were some nervous 10 just based on name recognition. He didn’t end up appearing on even moments in the first half for anyone who picked the Hawks and Kings, one. but otherwise, this one ended up being close to a freebie. That took out just about everyone. And of the entries that didn’t include The bottom line for the first two questions: If you wanted to be in the Lafrenière, almost all were because you went conservative and only running to win, you really needed to bank at least 25 of the maximum 30 listed one or two names. I’d thought that a few of you might try a points here. contrarian strategy where you went with five names but left off the 3. Name up to five coaches that will definitely not be fired or otherwise obvious one, hoping to bank a massive edge if Lafrenière got hurt or leave their job before the first day of 2021 free agency. struggled, but that didn’t really happen. And it was still a tricky category, with Ilya Sorokin also lurking as an entry-ruiner. 4. Name up to five GMs that will definitely not be fired or otherwise leave their job before the first day of 2021 free agency. So points were hard to come by here. And somewhat ironically, that meant that this question didn’t end up being all that important, since Your picks had to have been hired after Jan. 1, 2020, but otherwise, you almost everyone took a zero and the few who didn’t only picked up a had plenty of options to choose from. And a lot of the picks that felt safe handful of points. — Barry Trotz, , Jon Cooper, Joe Sakic and even all showed up on a ton of entries — did indeed end up being 7. Name up to five players who will definitely finish in the top 15 of Hart Trophy voting this year. The top three were a bit of a gimme, with Connor McDavid finishing as 6. Rookies: Kaprizov (1 point) the most popular entry in the entire contest with almost 800 appearances and Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon also being majority picks; 7. Hart trophy: Matthews, McDavid, MacKinnon (6 points) they ended up being the award’s three finalists. Leon Draisaitl showed up 8. Players that will switch teams: Hall (1 point) on about 250 ballots, and his eighth-place finish was good enough to bank points. Total: 74 points From there, things got tricky. The big hit here came from Artemi Panarin, As you can see, Garret basically figured out a near-ideal strategy in who had a great season but missed time and his team missed the terms of dodging wrong answers. He loaded up on the relatively easy playoffs, costing about 350 entrants a zero. If you dodged him, you still first four questions, played it fairly safe when things got tricky on had to contend with injured stars Jack Eichel (about 250) and Elias Questions 5 and 7 and did the bare minimum on the two most dangerous Pettersson (200), or popular picks Brayden Point, David Pastrnak and questions, 6 and 8, including being one of few entrants to avoid the Alex Ovechkin. Lafrenière trap. Add it all up, and there’s not a single miss to be found here. Brilliant work. If you wanted to contend, you needed points here, ideally from the Big Four of McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon and Draisaitl. If you slipped in a Except for one thing. Garret didn’t win. fifth correct choice for extra points, all the better, but on a lot of ballots, it was that final pick that cost you a zero. While it’s perfect in terms of avoiding mistakes, his entry ends up being too conservative. With only 14 points on the back half, he leaves the door 8. Name up to five players who are currently on an NHL roster that will open for a more aggressive entry to pass him at the finish line. definitely change teams between the start of the season and the end of the first day of NHL free agency. And that’s what happened. Garret actually didn’t even land on the podium, as he finished behind a handful of entries that banked 75 points The wording was key here — a player had to switch teams to qualify, by going a perfect 5-for-5 on the first five questions before zeroing out which meant that he had to show up on a second roster at some point the last three (a list that includes Bradley J., Uziel S. and Geordie P.) during the contest timeframe. You had until the end of the first day of free agency, which was last Wednesday, meaning any unsigned UFAs who But even 75 points wouldn’t have been enough. Let’s have a look at were still on the market wouldn’t count. (This turns out to be important.) Scott D.’s entry. Of all the questions, this was the one with the most variety as far as 1. Playoff teams: Colorado, Vegas, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Carolina (15 answers. It also had the widest spread of strategy, with some of you points) going for the max five names and others playing it safe with one or two. A 2. Non-playoff teams: Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, Los Angeles (10 few of you even passed, which didn’t make sense but I respect the points) honesty. 3. Safe coaches: Trotz, Cooper, Keefe, Bednar, Brind’Amour (15 points) There did seem to be two main approaches here. The first was the focus on players who were showing up in early-season trade rumors. That paid 4. Safe GMs: Lamoriello, Francis, BriseBois, Yzerman, Sakic (15 points) off for anyone who listed Patrik Laine, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Jack Roslovic, who were traded for each other days into the season. (Shout 5. Goalies: Vasilevskiy, Binnington, Markstrom, Hellebuyck, Blackwood out to Marcus B. and Lauri T., who had just those three on their entries (15 points) and took an early lead in the contest by banking six points. The lead did not hold up.) Other names you figured were likely to be traded and that 6. Rookies: Kaprizov, Shesterkin, Stützle (6 points) eventually paid off included Taylor Hall (the leading choice, with about 7. Hart trophy: Eichel, Marner, Matthews, McDavid, Gaudreau (0 points) 200 entries) and Kyle Palmieri (150) as well as Tyler Johnson (also almost 200) and Marc-Andre Fleury (100), although those two made you 8. Players that will switch teams: Hall, Palmieri, Johnson, Paquette, Ryan sweat until the day before the contest closed. (0 points) The second strategy involved looking toward the offseason by picking Total: 76 points players who were assumed to be headed to free agency, or viewed as potential expansion bait. That ended up being much more hit and miss. Scott gets off to a near-perfect start over the first four questions, although Trying to forecast what the Kraken would do ended up being especially he leaves five points on the board by only going with four teams on tricky. Not a single entry listed Mark Giordano. Philipp Grubauer and Question 2. He hits the goalie question out of the park and is one of the Yanni Gourde each showed up on only one, but almost 100 of you few entrants to score multiple points on the rookie question. But he whiffs figured T.J. Oshie would be on the move. Other common picks that didn’t on the Hart thanks to Eichel and , and then he goes all- move included Detroit’s Marc Staal and Bobby Ryan, both at around 100 in on the final question, with the maximum five names. He banks the first entries, as well as Derek Stepan, who signed with Carolina a few days four, then has to wait out the first day of free agency to see if Bobby late for the roughly 80 of you who listed him. Ryan would find a new home. He didn’t, meaning Scott takes a heartbreaking zero on the last question. If Ryan had signed, Scott’s All in all, this was a tough question with very few perfect scores. The impressive 76 points would have been a jaw-dropping 91. sweet spot was to try to bank points on three or four answers; you didn’t need the max 15 points here, but you probably needed something. Did that matter? It did, because of this entry from Michael M. And the winner is … 1. Playoff teams: Colorado, Vegas, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Boston (15 points) First, a disclaimer: It turned out to be a huge pain in the neck to sort through all these entries, and I did the best I could. I’m pretty sure I came 2. Non-playoff teams: Detroit, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Chicago, Buffalo out with the right winners, but if you’re completely convinced that your (15 points) score is better than the ones below, let me know and I’ll hook you up with 3. Safe coaches: Berube, Cassidy, Trotz, Bednar, Cooper (15 points) a prize. 4. Safe GMs: Armstrong, Lamoriello, Yzerman, Holland, Sakic (15 points) OK, first things first: With all of those potential zeroes lurking on names like Lafrenière, Panarin and Hart, did anyone actually manage to land a 5. Goalies: Hellebyuck, Jarry, Vasilevskiy, Binnington, Gibson (15 points) perfect entry that scored points on all eight questions? 6. Rookies: Lafrenière, Shesterkin, Kaprizov (0 points) Yes. As best I could tell, there was exactly one entry in the entire contest that didn’t have a single incorrect answer. It belonged to Garret E., and 7. Hart trophy: McDavid, Draisatl, Mackinnon, Matthews (10 points) looked like this: 8. Players that will switch teams: Dubois, Hall, Holtby (6 points) 1. Playoff teams: Toronto, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Colorado, Boston (15 Total: 91 points points) Intentional or not, Michael pretty much nails the perfect strategy for this 2. Non-playoff teams: Chicago, Ottawa, Detroit, Los Angeles, New year’s contest. He runs the table on the first four questions. He nails the Jersey (15 points) max scores on the goalies. He whiffs twice on the rookies, but it’s the one 3. Safe coaches: Keefe, Cooper, Bednar, Trotz, Brind’Amour (15 points) question he can afford to miss. He banks 10 points by picking the four “easy” Hart candidates and then knows to back off, avoiding everyone 4. Safe GMs: Yzerman, BriseBois, Lamoriello, Sakic, Francis (15 points) else. And then he tops it off with a decent score on the final question, with six points thanks to Braden Holtby’s jump to the Stars slipping in just 5. Goalies: Hellebuyck, Vasilevskiy, Gibson (6 points) under the wire. It’s not perfection, but it doesn’t need to be. Michael takes the crown, winning the grand prize of two signed copies of my book and (probably far more importantly) bragging rights until next year’s contest. Michael, shoot me an email and we’ll figure out how to get you your prize. And while he didn’t win or even come all that close, I feel like Garret should get something for being the only perfect entry. Garret, get in touch and we’ll hook you up with a consolation prize. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. As a first attempt, I think it went about as well as it could have. We’ll be back with a new edition in time for next season, perhaps with a few new questions and/or tweaks to the rules (and I’m open to suggestions on either front). Until then, enjoy your offseason and start trying to figure out what’s obviously going to happen next year. The Athletic LOADED: 08.04.2021 1191303 Websites All reports point to Palmieri staying put on the Island. The belief is that a long-term deal has already been agreed to… but GM Lou Lamoriello hasn’t announced a thing. (Mike Hoffman, Blake Coleman, Jaden Schwartz and Boone Jenner could serve as comparables.) Sportsnet.ca / NHL’s Top 10 UFAs remaining: Latest rumours, reports Lamoriello must also compensate key RFAs Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech this summer, and he may be exploring a Vladimir Tarasenko trade as well. Perhaps he doesn’t want agents to know how Luke Fox much cap space he has left. With Jordan Eberle now a Kraken, New York needs some dependability A whopping 243 players have scribbled their autograph on contracts on its wing. worth a silly $988,121,625 through the first five days of the NHL’s open 3. Tomas Tatar season on free agents. Age: 30 And yet, more than few notable athletes remain without employment for the 2021-22 season. Position: Left wing / Right wing General managers will need to bargain harder, and jobless players may 2018-19 salary cap hit: $5.3 million need to lower their asking prices, but there are still gems — or at least worthy gambles and depth additions — to be unearthed from 2021’s UFA Of all the UFAs still on the board, none produced more points per game class after the July 28’s frenzy. in 2021 than Tatar (0.60), who was the Montreal Canadiens’ leading scorer as recently as 2019-20. A proven offensive weapon and power- We round up the rumours and assess the value of the free agents who play threat with positive underlying metrics (58.9 CF%), Tatar already are taking a more patient approach this summer (in some cases, that’s has six 20-goal campaigns on his résumé. So why was he healthy even by choice) and are still up for grabs in August. scratched by two teams in two Stanley Cup Finals? NHL's Top 10 RFAs of 2021: Latest rumours and reports After losing Brandon Saad to the market, the Colorado Avalanche are one team that should consider adding a scoring punch to its second line. Luke Fox Montreal never made Tatar an extension offer. The Seattle Kraken 1. Tuukka Rask reportedly kicked tires here. Age: 34 Tatar is believed to be looking for term. Worst case, he may need to settle for a one-year, bet-on-himself deal. Position: Goaltender 4. 2020-21 salary cap hit: $7 million Age: 30 The question isn’t whether Rask — a Vezina-winning, Cup-winning, Jennings-winning stud — is deserving of a rich, new short-term contract. Position: Centre The question is whether his body is up for one. 2020-21 salary cap hit: $3.35 million Rask openly pondered 2021 retirement this past season and drew The pivot of the New York Islanders’ crash-and-bang identity line drew a criticism in some (unkind) circles for departing the playoff bubble early to healthy amount of interest from the competition, with the Toronto Maple attend to a family matter. Leafs, Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks all reportedly He underwent surgery on a torn hip labrum in late July and won’t be exploring a signing. ready to play until January or February. If and/or when he straps on the A career-long Islander, Cizikas has apparently shook hands on a multi- pads again, Rask only sees it being in Boston. year deal to remain on the Islander. Like Palmieri, we’re still awaiting an "I'm not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins. This is our home," announcement. Rask said on June 11. There is also speculation that Lamoriello will sign sudden UFA Zach “At this point of my life and my career, I don't see any reason to go Parise, whose price should be more modest. anywhere else, especially with the health I'm looking at now and a 5. Jason Demers recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well, and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that.” Age: 33 The Bruins’ crease is already in overhaul mode, with Jaroslav Halak Position: Defence (Vancouver) and Dan Vladar (Calgary) moving on. 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.5 million Expect Rask’s situation to simmer on the back burner, as the B’s roll into 2021-22 with a young, fresh tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Right-shot defencemen were scooped up fast and furious on July 28, but Swayman. this former Coyotes blueliner and steady, stay-at-home veteran is still available. “We needed to be prepared and allow Tuukka all the time he needs to get healthy. He just had surgery, spoke to him this morning, doing very Demers only registered four assists in 2021, but he’s still logging more well,” GM Don Sweeney said after signing Ullmark in free agency. than 17 minutes a night and driving play north despite starting the majority of his shifts in the D-zone. “We’ve always left the door open for Tuukka to return. And I think it just allows Jeremy to continue to progress at a natural rate but also give him Another $4.5-million payday is unlikely, but some team will scoop him up. the opportunity to be at the NHL level. 6. Marcus Johansson “When you’re trying to be a competitive team, you have to have depth. Age: 30 We felt that the last two playoffs, and we came up short. Now we’re trying to make sure that we’ve got the most competitive team we can, and Position: Centre / Wing identify if we have some needs going forward that we may have to have some changes as well.” 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.5 million 2. Kyle Palmieri A 20-goal, 50-point asset for Washington before concussions and a slew of sweater changes derailed his career, the versatile Swede is the type of Age: 30 gamble that should be worth a short-term gamble. Position: Right wing / Left wing Fans in Boston, New Jersey and Pittsburgh are among those suggesting their GM take a flyer on this useful utility forward. 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.65 million Johansson scored just six goals and eight assists for the Wild in 2021, Rental piece Palmieri’s two goals in 17 regular-season games for the but he was primarily used in defensive situations. Islanders underwhelmed, but he exploded for seven more in the post- season. 7. Nikita Gusev Age: 29 Devan Dubnyk, Jake Virtanen, James Neal, Erik Gudbranson, Erik Gustafsson, Valtteri Filppula, Christina Djoos, Derick Brassard, Dominik Position: Right wing / Left wing Kahun, Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Donato, Brian Boyle, Henrik Lundqvist, Alex 2020-21 salary cap hit: $1 million Chiasson, Tyler Ennis, Tobias Rieder, Artem Anisimov, Mark Jankowski, Colton Sceviour, Lucas Wallmark, Marcus Hogberg, Curtis McElhinney, A right shot capable of playing either wing, Gusev made some noise in Riley Sheahan, Ben Hutton 2019-20 when he finally left the KHL, scoring 13 goals and 44 points in 66 games for a bad Devils squad. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 08.04.2021 The Russian's '21 campaign was split between New Jersey and Florida. His shooting percentage dropped, and he failed to find his groove in either lineup. Gusev is only 29. He should have some game left, and he's garnered some interest on the market. Does he give the NHL another shot, or return to the KHL? 8. Travis Zajac Age: 36 Position: Centre 2020-21 salary cap hit: $5.75 million Like so many other veteran Islanders who are technically unrestricted free agents, there is a quiet assumption that bottom-six centreman Zajac may have a deal in principle to return to the Eastern Conference finalists. At this stage in a career, Zajac should be signing a one-year contract near the league minimum. Despite seeing his 1,000th game drift in the rear-view mirror, the durable Zajac can still play. He’ll kill penalties, chip in a bit of offence (20 points in 46 games in 2021), and remains an excellent faceoff asset, with a career 53.8 per cent success rate in the dot. 9. Sami Vatanen Age: 30 Position: Defence 2020-21 salary cap hit: $2 million My how Vatanen’s stock has fallen since his days as an emerging Anaheim Duck. The right-shot D-man still has some offensive upside and could thrive in third-pairing minutes. Bouncing from Anaheim to New Jersey to Carolina to New Jersey to Dallas over the past four seasons, there is still belief that if Vatanen finds the proper fit, he could resurrect his career and celebrate his 500th game this upcoming season. Righties are tough to come by. 10. Zdeno Chara Age: 44 Position: Defence 2020-21 salary cap hit: $795,000 The oldest and tallest man in the NHL hasn't retired yet, so it remains unknown if his career ended in a handshake line against the Boston Bruins or if he'll give it another go on a one-year, team-friendly contract. “Z is in Slovakia spending time with family. He is working out hard and leaving all of his options open. There is no rush on anything with him," Chara's agent, Matt Keator, told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Last season, Chara didn't sign with the Washington Capitals until about a week before training camp. If he's interested, we're certain a few GMs will kick tires at a third-pairing leader and excellent penalty killer. During Chara's season-ending Zoom call, he was unsure if he’d play a 24th season. “This season didn’t end the way we wanted, but that’s life,” Chara said. “You have to move on. As far as myself and my future, I’m probably going to take a few days to talk to my family and make decisions after. I think that, obviously, it’s not always a decision I can make myself. Sometimes there are things in life you have to realize. I have to have those conversations with my wife and my children and see where we’re going to be in the next two days or weeks. After those conversations, I’ll probably let those emotions settle in and see where I’m at.” More notable UFAs still on the market: Eric Staal, Zach Parise, Alex Galchenyuk, Bobby Ryan, Tyler Bozak, Jordie Benn, Joe Thornton, 1191304 Websites “I went from a fourth liner to what I am today,” she said. “I'm really proud that I was able to fill in all those roles because it makes me the person and the player I am today. I think now I can help those younger players because I've been in their shoes. TSN.CA / Canadian forward Daoust has learned to lean on her teammates “I think I try to lead by example. I'm not someone that's gonna speak too much. But my work ethic will be something that I hope the younger [players] are looking after. I think I try to bring lots of lightness in the room. I bring my smile.” By Meaghen Johnson Daoust will be playing in her second world championship after making her tournament debut in 2019. After being named the MVP of the 2018 Mélodie Daoust is normally a cheerful person. The forward for Canada’s Olympics, Daoust finished with four assists at the 2019 women’s worlds. women’s hockey team is known for having a near-permanent smile on “I'm not really looking at what I've done in the past,” she said. “Every her face. game, I try to be my best, and if that's with a goal or an assist or just But after the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship that was set to making plays in the defensive zone, that's what I’ve got to do. I need to take place in Halifax and Truro, N.S., was abruptly cancelled this past be a team player and do everything I can to make the team win.” spring due to provincial concerns about COVID-19, Daoust admits it was It’s that mentality that has Daoust focused on changing the colour of the difficult to stay optimistic. medal at the worlds. The team hasn’t won gold at the event since 2012, “I'm not gonna lie, it was a very hard day,” she told TSN. “I think we did and two years ago, Canada won bronze, the country’s worst-ever finish not expect that. We knew that the pandemic was going well in Halifax. at a major tournament. So, obviously, it kind of took us by surprise.” “I think we're a much different team,” said Daoust. “That 2019 world Daoust is back with the national team for camp in Calgary, with the championship has taught us so many things…. I can guarantee you that rescheduled world championship set to take place in the city beginning our group is ready to compete. We have a new identity, and really on Aug. 20. Canada kicks off the tournament against Finland, with all the looking forward to show the world what Team Canada can do.” games live on TSN. TSN.CA LOADED: 08.04.2021 This is the first time the Canadian team has been back training as a group since April. When news of the cancellation broke, the squad was already in Halifax preparing for the tournament. Now 28 players are training together at WinSport Arena as part of the Olympic centralization roster, with five final cuts expected to be announced on Thursday. “I think as a group, we face so many challenges. So that was just another bump in the road,” Daoust said about the tournament’s initial cancellation. “We just wanted to be ready when we were gonna have the green light, and here we are back in Calgary. We have trained all summer and we're really excited to compete.” Adversity is not new for women’s hockey. Last year, the world championship was again scheduled to take place in Halifax and Truro before its cancellation due to the pandemic. The Canadian women in the PWHPA weren’t able to take part in their own leg of the Dream Gap Tour until this past May, while their American counterparts were able to hit the ice in February. Daoust said she has learned to lean on the support of her teammates during these various trials. “I think we all have our ups and downs,” she said. “I think that's why we play a team sport. When we have a down, there's someone else beside you that is ready to pick you up…. I think it's really important for us to stay optimistic and be ready to face challenges, because challenges are going to happen all year.” Daoust had more hardships when she missed May’s Dream Gap Tour in Calgary after undergoing surgery on her left wrist to help repair an ongoing injury. She was originally supposed to have the surgery after the world championship in May, but the cancellation meant she had to push it up to be ready for camp this summer. The native of Valleyfield, Que., is no stranger to difficult times. Four months after winning gold in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, she tore her ACL and missed most of her season with McGill University. She was left off the roster for subsequent world championships and had to fight her way back into the mix for the 2018 Olympics. “My personality is always to see the good and the bad. My injuries are a big part of that,” she said. “Every time I get injured, I need to refocus and give myself new goals and new challenges.” Daoust seems to relish taking the road less travelled. She is the only player on the current roster to have played for a Canadian university, spending five years at McGill. Daoust said coaches repeatedly told her that if she wanted to make the Canadian Olympic team she needed to play in the NCAA, and she made it a goal to prove them wrong. “I’ve been to two Olympics and I push myself every day to make sure I attain that goal. I had five great years at McGill University. I'm very proud to be a Martlet,” she said. It was during her time at McGill that Daoust became the youngest player on the Canadian team that won gold at the Sochi Games. Now at 29, she is a leader on the squad.

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