SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 8/5/2021 Anaheim Ducks Ottawa Senators 1191305 Ducks free agency: The shelves are emptying, but here 1191329 ARBITRATION AVOIDED: Ottawa Senators sign Mete to are 6 bargain options for Bob Murray one-year, $1.2M deal 1191330 After speaking with Senators, Michael Del Zotto felt Boston Bruins Ottawa was the right fit 1191306 Bruins see a lot of upside in 2020 draft pick Trevor Kuntar of Boston College Philadelphia Flyers 1191307 Bruins’ goalie prospect Kyle Keyser ready for next rung up 1191331 Flyers reportedly file for arbitration with RFA Sanheim the ladder 1191332 After down season, can Ivan Provorov return to peak form 1191308 2021 NHL free agency winners and losers with more help on Flyers’ blue line? 1191309 Ranking Bruins' top 10 prospects after 2021 NHL Draft 1191310 Bruins prospect Mason Lohrei is on pace for NHL impact: Pittsburgh Penguins ‘I didn’t know he was going to become special’ 1191333 Penguins fire goaltending coach Mike Buckley, name Andy Chiodo as replacement Carolina Hurricanes 1191334 Ryan Malone on his tech-savvy sports business venture, 1191311 Status quo wasn’t going to get it done for Hurricanes. state of the Penguins, Sidney Crosby memories Maybe this massive retooling will. 1191336 Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph hopes to be 1191312 What does a Frederik Andersen-Antti Raanta goalie positive influence for Black youth tandem bring to the Hurricanes? 1191337 Why the Penguins’ attempt to upgrade goalie position ended up being a new coach Chicago Blackhawks 1191338 Penguins Fire Goalie Coach Mike Buckley; Replace Him 1191313 After processing shocking trade, Marc-Andre Fleury with Andy ChiodoPublished 11 hours ago on August 4, ‘excited now’ to join Blackhawks 2021 1191314 'Good night's sleep" has Fleury ready to roll with 1191339 Pending a Trade, Penguins Appear Stuck in Holding Blackhawks PatternPublished 13 hours ago on August 4, 2021 1191315 How Blackhawks have set strong foundation during rebuild 1191316 Blackhawks takeaways: From Marc-Andre Fleury to Dylan San Jose Sharks Strome to Brandon Hagel, where does everybody stand? 1191340 San Jose Sharks come to terms with key RFA on two-year contract Colorado Avalanche 1191341 San Jose Sharks staying (mostly) close to home for 1191317 Darren Helm has “mixed emotions” about joining preseason games Avalanche after 14 years with Red Wings 1191342 Sharks lock up goalie tandem, sign Hill to two-year deal 1191318 Darren Helm ‘extremely excited’ to join Cup-contending 1191343 John Madden Remembers Matiss Kivlenieks Colorado Avalanche 1191344 How Much Cap Space Do Sharks Have After Signing Hill? 1191319 One fan’s personal goodbye to departed Avs players Seattle Kraken Dallas Stars 1191345 Yanni Gourde heads Kraken list of several possible 1191320 Stars center Radek Faksa becomes a father to his first 20-goal scorers — and maybe more once freed from child shoulder p 1191321 Stars and Ryan Suter are betting on each other, and that a 1191346 Gourde excited for chance in Seattle even with start Stanley Cup is in their future together delayed 1191347 How the Kraken will get equipment for an entire roster in Edmonton Oilers time for training camp 1191322 Lowetide: 8 unsigned free agents who could help the Oilers St Louis Blues 1191348 Blues, Sanford agree to one-year contract; arbitration Florida Panthers averted 1191323 Panthers re-sign goaltender Sam Montembeault 1191349 What can the Blues expect from Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad? Those who know them best weigh in Los Angeles Kings 1191324 A look at how the Kings’ depth chart could look in 3 years, Tampa Bay Lightning after more prospects arrive 1191350 Sonya Bryson-Kirksey, battling COVID, moves out of ICU 1191325 Kings prospects complete summer showcase events, in advance of World Juniors Toronto Maple Leafs 1191351 Why the Maple Leafs hired Dean Chynoweth as assistant Minnesota Wild coach: ‘He doesn’t accept the status quo’ 1191326 Moving on from Parise, Suter: Wild coach Dean Evason thinks Wild will make 'seamless' transition Vancouver Canucks 1191359 Well-travelled Jeff Ulmer brings a global view to Montreal Canadiens Abbotsford coaching staff 1191327 Canadiens assistant coach Alex Burrows gets three-year deal Vegas Golden Knights 1191352 Marc-Andre Fleury says trade from Golden Knights ‘a little New York Islanders surprising’ 1191328 Should Oliver Wahlstrom Get a Shot on the Islanders Top 1191353 Get to know the Vegas Golden Knights’ latest additions Line?Published 13 hours ago on August 4, 2021By Nation Washington Capitals 1191354 Free agent targets remain if Caps are looking for bargain deals Websites 1191360 The Athletic / ‘In-game betting but on steroids’: Sinclair’s sports broadcast of the future 1191361 The Athletic / Team Canada summer showcase: U18 standouts and World Junior roster projection 1191362 Sportsnet.ca / How bad teammates can disrupt dressing rooms, team chemistry 1191363 Sportsnet.ca / After transformative summer, key to Canucks' redemption is commitment 1191364 NCAA players hope to make impact for Team Canada at worlds Winnipeg Jets 1191355 Stanley agrees to two-year deal with Jets 1191356 Jets face difficult task in keeping Copp and Pionk 1191357 Jets' Dubois to honour fallen friend, former teammate with number switch 1191358 Jets sign promising blue-liner Stanley to two-year deal with $900,000 AAV SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1191305 Anaheim Ducks In short, they need their players to be better. But they also could use better players.

Expecting vast improvement to come solely from young forwards who are Ducks free agency: The shelves are emptying, but here are 6 bargain still in growth mode is a huge ask, even if it’s an ask a team should options for Bob Murray make. It makes sense to have more interest in trading for a 24-year-old Jack Eichel to go alongside that newer core (and lead it) than signing a 28-year-old Gabriel Landeskog or Phillip Danault. But Trevor Zegras and By Eric Stephens Aug 4, 2021 Max Comtois shouldn’t shoulder the task of improving a 31st-ranked offense alone.

With that in mind, here are six unsigned forwards the Ducks might want Coming out of the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, the Ducks to take a bargain flier on and hope for an unexpected value. We’re not started a new era by bringing back an old face. Before they resumed talking about a multi-year commitment that will impede the rebuilding playing, the team signed Teemu Selänne to a one-year contract worth $1 process. Just some possibilities for players who can regain or build their million. own value and help a struggling franchise work its way back to There were interesting circumstances surrounding that deal. Selanne relevance. (It’d be nice to welcome back Kyle Palmieri for a few years, was 35 and coming off major surgery on a bad knee that reduced him to but the belief is that the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello isn’t letting him slip a shadow of what he once was. The NHL instituted a hard salary cap, away and that the best of Palmieri might have come and gone.) and teams could not spend more than $39 million. The Ducks had a These players are flawed. There are reasons they don’t have contracts. disappointing follow-up season to their inspiring run to the 2003 Stanley But it’s not like Anaheim hasn’t been a rehabilitation station in the past. Cup Final. There was new ownership, a new general manager, a new head coach and, in general, a new thought process to putting together a Ryan Donato team. Position: Left wing/center In the case of the Finnish Flash, he had already made $53 million in salary – that’s not counting anything he made in endorsements – over his Last season (with San Jose): 50 games, 6 goals, 14 assists, 12:37 TOI, career and was willing to return to a place where he had great success. 46.65 CF% Besides, the Ducks had already made waves by signing Norris Trophy- Reason to sign him: Just 25, Donato has offensive skill and a nose for winning defenseman Scott Niedermayer, one of the greatest blueliners of the net. He has a great shot and has produced a 16-goal, 35-point clip for his generation. every 82 games he has played. He’ll engage physically even though he In 2005-06, Selanne delivered one of the greatest low-risk, high-reward isn’t the biggest forward, although he also can get knocked off the puck. seasons any franchise could hope for by leading a resurgent Anaheim Reason not to: The son of former NHL forward and Harvard men’s club with 40 goals and 90 points while winning the Masterton Trophy and hockey coach Ted Donato has already been with three organizations even earning a few fifth-place Hart Trophy votes. It was akin to finding a over four years. The Sharks walked away from a $2.15 million qualifying Louis Vuitton bag in the discount rack and buying it at a Michael Kors offer after he scored only six times in 50 games last season. His play in price. his own end can be found wanting.

There was also this element the Ducks benefitted from: He’s freaking Ryan Donato. (Stan Szeto / USA Today) TEEMU SELÄNNE! Alex Galchenyuk But this also shows that the organization doesn’t mind looking in the bargain bin for a potential great buy. General manager Bob Murray shops Position: Left wing/right wing there enough to earn preferred customer status. But the reality is, how often are you going to come across a Teemu Selänne on the sale rack? Last season (with Toronto): 34 games, 5 goals, 8 assists, 12:42 TOI, There is a reason the term “you get what you pay for” exists. If you don’t 49.10 CF% spend much, chances are you’re not going to get much in value. Reason to sign him: The 27-year-old has always had a deadly one-timer Remember these summer signings? Mark Bell. Dany Heatley. Mike and has shown the ability to produce on the power play. Galchenyuk has Santorelli. Chris Stewart. Derek Grant. Michael Del Zotto. Andrej Sustr. scored 42 of his 140 goals on the man advantage. He played on a $1.05 Luke Schenn. (Ahem, that’s two-time Stanley Cup winner Luke Schenn). million contract last season and could be very affordable on another one- year deal. The Ducks have been interested in him previously and might The fact is, some of those bargain deals work out. Most sort of work out see him as a low-risk, high-reward candidate. or don’t work out at all. Reason not to: Galchenyuk has bounced around a lot after his 30-goal But it generally hasn’t stopped Murray and other GMs from trying. And season with Montreal in 2015-16. While he has offensive ability, his lack while the cap these days is $81.5 million, it is staying flat for a third of detail in the defensive end has left coaches leery about giving him the consecutive season and teams are always on the hunt for value buys to most crucial minutes. Even on a talented Maple Leafs team, the former fill the remaining holes on their rosters after the initial free-for-all of free No. 3 overall pick was a modest contributor. agency has died down. Marcus Johansson The Ducks still have money to spend this summer. So far, they have proven that they’re not going to be drunken sailors. They’re more like Position: Left wing/center sailors who have passed up a shore leave altogether. Their only Last season (with Minnesota): 36 games, 6 goals, 8 assists, 15:56 TOI, expenditure has been keeping franchise face Ryan Getzlaf after the 45.57 CF% captain’s few hours of being available to anyone via free agency. Reason to sign him: The 30-year-old can play up and down the lineup August is here and this starts the time when unsigned players start and has enough skill to work off talented players. He has experience, reconsidering what their worth might be and taking what they can get. with almost 800 games played between the regular season and playoffs. There are NHL players available who have had varying measures of He’ll make a fraction of the $4 million he made with the Wild, who took on success. One would imagine that most would prefer to enter a training the contract he signed with Buffalo. camp with a contract signed, rather than trying to earn one through a pro tryout. Reason not to: Johansson has moved around a bit since his days in Washington and appears to have settled into the role of a depth scorer Teams know this. Murray knows this. It means prices for some players who can punch up a lineup but shouldn’t be greatly relied upon. The will come down. And that means lower risk, with the chance that a reward Ducks, who are building around their developing new core, need much is more than the cost paid. The Ducks have a lot of spots filled but they’re more than that. also working from the bottom, after finishing with the worst offense in the NHL last season, which was a big part of having the second-worst Dominik Kahun record. Position: Left wing/right wing Last season (with Edmonton): 48 games, 9 goals, 6 assists, 12:49 TOI, 47.65 CF%

Reason to sign him: While the Ducks’ abominable power play is their biggest offensive lowlight, they were also 26th in five-on-five goals last season, with 100. Eighty-eight percent of Kahun’s offense has come at even strength. Looking at his 82-game average, Kahun could total 16 goals and 23 assists if he was an everyday option. It’s possible he could come in at $1 million.

Reason not to: The 26-year-old appears destined to be on his fifth team if he gets an NHL deal. His numbers have trended downward even though he’s largely been on some offensive-minded teams in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Edmonton.

Bobby Ryan

Position: Right wing

Last season (with Detroit): 33 games, 7 goals, 7 assists, 15:19 TOI, 47.78 CF%

Reason to sign him: Want to give fans a reason to come to games? Why not bring back a fan favorite? It’s true that Ryan isn’t the same player who piled up 147 goals over six seasons with the Ducks before being sent to Ottawa. But even for lowly Detroit last season, the 34-year-old showed he can still give a team some depth scoring.

Reason not to: While Anaheim’s young forwards could benefit from having an experienced offensive player who has scored at a high level, Ryan’s presence could block someone from getting an opportunity for ice time. The 14-year veteran doesn’t fit the profile of the early-20s forward they’re seeking, even if he’d be a short-term addition.

Tomas Tatar

Position: Left wing

Last season (with Montreal): 50 games, 10 goals, 20 assists, 14:59 TOI, 59.29 CF%

Reason to sign him: At this point, there might be no more proven offensive player who is at an age at which his game isn’t on the decline. The 30-year-old has had great underlying metrics throughout his career, though some of that can be the result of offensive-zone starts nearly two- thirds of the time. But six 20-goal seasons is nothing to sniff at.

Reason not to: Tatar might not be all that cheap, even though he hasn’t been locked up. Unless he settles for a one-year deal to build up his value for next summer, it’s possible the Czech winger wants some term, and the Ducks are no longer willing to commit years to someone of his age. There is also the potential of Tatar blocking a younger player, plus the fact that his previous experience playing in the Western Conference didn’t go well.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191306 Boston Bruins back-line duos will line up after general manager Don Sweeney recently signed free agents Mike Reilly (a returnee) and Derek Forbort to three- year deals.

Bruins see a lot of upside in 2020 draft pick Trevor Kuntar of Boston Ther early bet for No. 2 center: Charlie Coyle. The top three spots at left- College side D will be sorted out among Matt Grzelcyk, Reilly, and Forbort.

Sweeney will hold his camp-wrap assessment with the media Friday.

By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,Updated August 4, 2021, 6:38 p.m. Progress reports

Boldy, from Millis, was a Wild first-round pick (No. 12) in the ‘19 draft. He The college hockey landscape is ever-shifting, but it shook with an signed April 1 and piled up 18 points in his 14 games with the AHL Iowa emphatic jolt last spring with Boston College sophomore forwards Matt Wild. Those numbers should bring the 6-2 left winger a serious look in Boldy (Wild), Mike Hardman (Blackhawks), and Alex Newhook the varsity training camp next month … Hardman, a right winger from (Avalanche) all opting in a span of 72 hours to leave the Heights for a Hanover, was signed March 30 by Chicago as an undrafted free agent. chance to launch their pro careers. He went directly to the Hawks roster and chipped in with 1-2—3 across his first eight NHL games … Newhook, a center chosen 16th overall by Bruins prospect Trevor Kuntar was among the Eagles to stay put on the Avalanche in 2019, signed March 31 and split his time between AHL Jerry York’s roster, and the 20-year-old center will be eager to embrace Colorado and the Avalanche (6 games, 0-3—3) …Kuntar on York’s the added playing time that should be available when he heads back to advice when players are facing the decision to stay or go: “He’s very Conte Forum for his sophomore season. supportive. He knows when guys are ready, when guys are not ready. It’s up to the player. He’ll be very honest with you. If guys are ready, he “It definitely opens up a lot of opportunity for me and some other knows it, and he’ll be very supportive of it.” freshmen, I think,” said Kuntar, who is in Brighton this week for the Bruins’ development camp at Warrior Ice Arena that will wrap up Friday. He’s a Harvard man “We’ll have some big shoes to fill, but I know I’ve been working really hard this summer and I think I’m ready. Really excited for that Mason Langenbrunner, a right-shot defenseman drafted at No. 151 in opportunity.” 2020, will play at USHL Fargo this season and then join Ted Donato’s Harvard Crimson for the start of 2022-23. Langenbrunner said he fielded Kuntar, who grew up Williamsville, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo, was opportunities from a number of schools, but it was the feel of the Harvard selected at No. 89 by the Bruins in the 2020 draft. He suited up for all but campus and program that proved the tipping point. “Loved the coaches one of the Eagles’ 24 games last season and chipped in with a 6-4—10 there, loved the campus,” mused Langenbrunner, “and leaving with a line, substantially below the team-leading pace (31 points) set by Boldy. Harvard degree at the end of the day is not such a bad thing.” … Once camp is finished, the Bruins’ next formal session at Warrior will be the North Billerica’s Marc McLaughlin, another BC center, is also in camp start of rookie camp Sept. 15, followed quickly by what has become the this week as an invitee. Never drafted, he is on course to return as a traditional rookie tournament in Buffalo (games expected across Sept. senior after finishing runner-up to Boldy in team scoring with 24 points. 17-19). The veterans report to Brighton Sept. 22, and the first preseason The Bruins drafted Kuntar, in part, because of the aggressive nature of tilt will be against the Capitals in D.C. Sept. 26. his play and his potential to play up and down the lineup, be it in the Boston Globe LOADED: 08.05.2021 middle or wing.

“He’s clearly a talented kid,” said Kim Brandvold, the Bruins’ skating and skills coach. “Getting to know him, he’s clearly someone who cares about the game and wants to improve all the time.

“You can see it in all the stuff we’re doing that he’s really absorbing things, both in terms of video we’re showing off the ice and then the things we’re doing on the ice.”

By Brandvold’s eye, Kuntar is willing to do the dirty work to gain inside ice — the gritty area around the net — and has a “good knack” for understanding the flow of a game.

“There’s a lot of upside there,” noted Brandvold. “And getting to know him a little more this week, an exciting young person to work with.”

Trevor Kuntar looks for open ice during a drill in Brighton Wednesday.JONATHAN WIGGS/

GLOBE STAFF Kuntar, who played three seasons for USHL Youngstown prior to joining BC, will remain at the Heights for at least one more season and could see it through as a full four-year Eagle. Watching teammates pack up after only a year or two, though, can make underclassmen eager to launch their pro careers.

“For me personally, I don’t really have a goal when I want to leave,” Kuntar said. “I think my goal is just to keep getting better and better every day, and when I feel ready enough … I don’t really want to jump in early, not be ready, and kind of make that mistake.

“I think when I’m ready to jump and make an impact right away at that next level is when I’ll be ready to leave.”

It did not surprise him to see Boldy, Hardman, and Newhook head out to find the footlights.

“I kind of expected it,” Kuntar said. “They’re all studs. So we all kind of expected it.”

Burning questions

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is expected to hold a Zoom session with reporters Thursday and no doubt will be asked his vision of who will replace David Krejci as No. 2 center, and also how he anticipates his 1191307 Boston Bruins of being able to play much of last season in his home state, where his father could drive up from his home in Naples to watch him play.

But the season was all about development and playing opportunity, and Bruins’ goalie prospect Kyle Keyser ready for next rung up the ladder that’s what Jacksonville provided for him in a season that saw many Goalie looking forward to jump to Providence league’s seasons truncated because of COVID.

“Last year was a good opportunity to get down to Jacksonville and play some games,” said Keyser. “Last year we had a shortened schedule in By STEVE CONROY | PUBLISHED: August 4, 2021 at 3:03 p.m. | Providence and I think it was crucial for me to get back down there, get UPDATED: August 4, 2021 at 4:58 p.m. some games in and get my confidence to where it needs to be. When I did get called up to Providence, I felt ready for that opportunity to come in

and play the way I know I can play. … I felt more confident with each day When Daniel Vladar was traded to the Calgary Flames for a third-round I went out for practice with (Dunham) and kept making those strides pick on July 28 — part of a dizzying league-wide goalie carousel that upward. That’s what I want to do. I just wanted to keep getting better affected the Bruins as much as any team — there were plenty of people every day, whether I was in Florida or I was in Providence. My mindset expressing sadness. doesn’t change, and that’s to stop the puck.”

Teammates and reporters alike had come to enjoy the infectious And this year, he should get the chance to stop the puck closer to where enthusiasm and generally likable personality of the Czech netminder, he wants to be eventually. who was made expendable by the acquisition of free agent Linus Boston Herald LOADED: 08.05.2021 Ullmark, the emergence of prospect Jeremy Swayman and the fact that Vladar could have been lost for nothing on waivers if the club tried to send him to Providence.

But while people were sad to see Vladar go, there was at least one beneficiary of the goalie space created within the organization — Kyle Keyser.

The Coral Springs, Fla., native had opened eyes as a free agent invitee who participated in the Bruins’ rookie camp tournament in Buffalo in fall 2017 as an Oshawa General, earning himself a pro contract.

After a strong junior career in Oshawa, Keyser turned pro two years ago, but a concussion limited him to just seven games between Providence and the B’s former ECHL affiliate Atlanta.

Last year Keyser again showed himself to be an interesting prospect, posting a .917 save percentage and 2.46 GAA in 22 games in Jacksonville (ECHL) and a .913 save percentage and 2.56 GAA in Providence.

Now, with Vladar in Calgary and Swayman expected to be in Boston at least until the midway point of the season when/if Tuukka Rask returns to the fold, Keyser should be a regular in Providence.

He can’t wait.

“I definitely feel like I’m ready for the next step,” said Keyser this week at Bruins’ Development Camp. “It’s been a good two years for my development. I feel like my game is right where it needs to be heading into next season for that opportunity to be in Providence to show that I’m ready for a full-time season there. I think last year I made good steps in coming up to Providence and playing well. We had a good team as well and that helped me out, too. But I feel like I’m ready for that next jump and to keep on pushing my development to the next level.”

Despite his somewhat lost year in 2019-20, the 22-year-old feels the past two years have helped him become a professional goalie, learning to rely less on his athleticism and more on his positioning and technique as the level of skaters have improved since the junior level.

“In hockey, as a young kid or even as an older veteran, you’re always looking for ways to get better. Personally for me, it was just learning to play at a pro level. Everything happens a lot faster and guys are so much better than in juniors and you have to tailor your game to fit that kind of speed,” said Keyser. “For me, it was to just keep things more controlled on east-west plays, reading the play better, not getting out of position. Because if you do get out of position, things just happen way too fast at this level and they’ll burn you. So I think it was just an adjustment period over the last two years to learn what worked and what didn’t, and I think last year was when I really found what was working for me at that level and that’s why I started to have more success at the higher level, just because I was starting to figure it out myself. It’s just an everyday process of learning and trying to get better, like we all talk about. And it’s always tinkering with different things in your game. That was one of the things I tried to focus on the last two years with (goalie coaches Bob Essensa and Mike Dunham), keeping everything under control and really just playing within my game and not getting too far out there.”

With Swayman and Vladar taking up starts in Providence until injury and illness hit in Boston last season, Keyser enjoyed the happy coincidence 1191308 Boston Bruins and has improved defensively since breaking into the league with Boston in 2013.

Dougie Hamilton, who is better than Seth Jones and is somehow being 2021 NHL free agency winners and losers paid $500K less, signs the best deal of the day. pic.twitter.com/Mo1vOUM2hH— dom at the athletic (@domluszczyszyn) July 28, 2021 BY NICK GOSS The Devils also bolstered their goaltending talent and depth by signing Jonathan Bernier to a two-year, $8.25 million deal. Bernier adds plenty of experience and gives starter MacKenzie Blackwood a reliable backup. NHL teams have opened their wallets and let cash fly in the beginning of Bernier posted good numbers last season, including a .914 save free agency. percentage, despite playing behind a bad Red Wings team that finished More than $900 million worth of contracts has been signed/agreed to with the fifth-worst record in the league. since the market officially opened last Wednesday. LOSERS: Boston Bruins Unlike the NBA, championships are rarely won in NHL free agency, but The Bruins added plenty of depth up front and on the blue line in free this is a great time for teams to add much-needed depth to their roster. agency with the signings of forwards Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek, Erik Here's a list of notable winners and losers from free agency so far. All Haula and defensemen Derek Forbort. Boston also re-signed two of its salary information is from CapFriendly. own free agents, left winger Taylor Hall and defenseman Mike Reilly to team-friendly deals. WINNERS: Young defensemen The Bruins' best signing was goaltender Linus Ullmark. The 27-year-old It's a great time to be a top-tier young defenseman. Despite the flat cap Swede posted really impressive numbers last season despite playing on likely being a reality for the next couple seasons, teams have been more a historically bad Sabres team. His four-year, $20 million contract was a than willing to splurge on the cornerstones of their blue line. good deal for the Bruins cap-wise.

Here's a list of young defensemen who got PAID over the last week or So, why are the Bruins losers? so: Their No. 1 need -- a left-shooting top-four defenseman -- still hasn't Zach Werenski, CBJ: Six years, $57.5 million ($9.85M cap hit) been addressed. Furthermore, David Krejci choosing to leave the Bruins and return home to the Czech Republic leaves a massive hole at second- Cale Makar, COL: Six years, $54 million ($9M cap hit) line center. The Bruins don't have any good internal options to fill Krejci's Miro Heiskanen, DAL: Eight years, $67.6 million ($8.45M cap hit) shoes. Charlie Coyle is best suited as a third-line center. Foligno is more of a winger and not a top-six player at this stage of his career. Jack Dougie Hamilton, NJD: Seven years, $63 million ($9M cap hit) Studnicka likely is not ready for a No. 2 center job after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign. Seth Jones, CHI: Eight years, $76 million ($9.5M cap hit) Krug, Bergeron react to David Krejci leaving Bruins These players are really hard to find, so when you acquire one, it's almost always a sound investment to invest long term. Complicating matters for the Bruins is there aren't any top-six centers or top-four defensemen remaining on the free agent market. A trade is One player who must love these contracts is Bruins star Charlie McAvoy, Boston's best bet at this point, but these signings have left the team with who's a top-five defenseman in the league and entering the final year of just over $1 million cap space, thus limiting the team's financial flexibility. his current deal. Right now, the Bruins' roster is slightly worse or largely the same in terms LOSERS: Edmonton Oilers of quality as it was last season. That's not going to be good enough to This one was predictable, right? win the Stanley Cup.

After acquiring a 38-year-old Duncan Keith, the Oilers let a younger and WINNERS: Seattle Kraken better player in Adam Larsson walk in free agency, further weakening the The Kraken didn't have an exceptional expansion draft, but their free blue line. They also brought back Tyson Barrie, who puts up consistently agent signings were pretty solid. good scoring totals but isn't a shutdown defenseman by any means. Cody Ceci was a strange move by the Oilers as well. The 27-year-old They found a No. 1 goalie in Philipp Grubauer, who was a Vezina Trophy defenseman has never reached the 30-point mark in a single season and finalist last season after posting a 1.95 GAA and a .922 save percentage at best is an average third-pairing defenseman. That's not the player you for the Avalanche. Seattle also signed a quality backup in RFA Chris sign to a four-year deal worth $3.25 million per season. Driedger to a three-year, $10.5 million deal.

The Zach Hyman contract is another one that could hurt the Oilers in the The Kraken bolstered their scoring depth by signing forwards Jaden not-so-distant future. Giving him seven years and $38.5 million, including Schwartz and Alexander Wennberg, while also fortifying the blue line with a full no-movement clause for the first five years, was a bad move. the additions of Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larson. Seattle overpaid a bit Hyman is a solid middle-six winger, but his career high in goals is just 21. for Oleksiak, but he'll bring some much-needed toughness and size to its That cap space could've been spent on a more pressing need, such as a lineup. top-four defenseman. Overall. it was a very good couple of days in free agency for the league's The Oilers need to win now with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl newest team. And even after all of these moves, the Kraken have done performing at an MVP level. This summer was a great opportunity to well to leave themselves $16.4 million in salary cap space, which will surround those two superstars with better talent and depth with more help them immensely at the trade deadline next season if they're a buyer. than $20 million in cap space available. Instead, the Oilers spent that cap space by overpaying for overrated or below average players. LOSERS: Carolina Hurricanes

Edmonton is now worse than it was last season. The Hurricanes ranked third in save percentage and fourth in goals allowed last season with Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer and Petr Yikes. Mrazek in net. Despite those excellent numbers, the Hurricanes completely overhauled their goaltending by letting go of all three players. WINNERS: New Jersey Devils Trading Nedeljkovic to the Red Wings, who immediately signed him to a The Devils needed an elite defenseman and they acquired the best one team-friendly contract (two years, $6 million) as an RFA, made no sense available in free agency. for the Hurricanes. Nedeljkovic looked like a true No. 1 goalie and Dougie Hamilton signed a seven-year contract worth $9.5 million per bringing him back wouldn't have been costly at all. season, one that adds plenty of value for New Jersey. Hamilton drives puck possession and scoring at a high rate. He's also an excellent skater Instead, the Hurricanes brought in an injury prone Frederik Andersen, veteran Antti Raanta and Alex Lyon as their NHL goalies. That's a genuine downgrade from the previous season.

Furthermore, the Hurricanes had the salary cap space to re-sign Dougie Hamilton and chose not to bring him back. The Hurricanes still have a quality blue line, but replacing a top offensive defenseman is no easy task.

WINNERS: Goalies

It's been a nice offseason for goalies.

Here's a recap of the most notable contracts:

Chris Driedger, SEA: Three years, $10.5 million ($3.5M cap hit)

Petr Mrazek, TOR: Three years, $11.4 million ($3.8M cap hit)

Jonathan Bernier, NJD: Two years, $8.25 million ($4.125M cap hit)

Philipp Grubauer, SEA: Six years, $35.4 million ($5.9M cap hit)

Linus Ullmark, BOS: Four years, $20 million ($5M cap hit)

LOSERS: Calgary Flames

Calgary's marquee move in free agency was signing forward Blake Coleman to a six-year, $29.4 million contract. Coleman is a solid player who helped the Lightning win the last two Stanley Cup titles. But that's a lot of term and cap space to give a player of his caliber, especially for a team that's not a real Cup contender.

The Flames also have done nothing to improve their blue line in a meaningful way, which took a hit when captain and top-four defenseman Mark Giordano was lost in the Seattle expansion draft.

The Flames needed to shake up their core and re-tool/rebuild or make substantial upgrades to compete next season. They've done neither so far, and as a result it's tough to envision this team making the playoffs next season.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191309 Boston Bruins #NHLBruins forward prospect John Beecher on his recovery from shoulder surgery: "Just knocking some of the rust off still. I’ve still only

had five or six actual skates since my surgery. I’m coming along. But it’s Ranking Bruins' top 10 prospects after 2021 NHL Draft just another step in the process to get back for the season." pic.twitter.com/ruS8tGv7Zu— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 2, 2021

BY NICK GOSS 5. Jakub Lauko, LW

Lauko has excellent speed, which could make him a valuable NHL forward at some point. He also plays with a high hockey IQ. Lauko took a The Boston Bruins remain a top contender in the Eastern Conference huge step offensively last season, tallying 19 points (five goals, 14 after a flurry of free agent signings added plenty of depth to the NHL assists) in 23 games for the Providence Bruins -- an improvement from roster. nine points in 22 games the previous year. It wouldn't be crazy if Lauko An boost of young talent is needed, though. Unfortunately for the Bruins, made his NHL debut in 2021-22. they don't have any A-list prospects ready to break into the NHL. 6. Urho Vaakanainen, D Boston's prospect pool was ranked dead last in The Athletic's February It's time for Vaakanainen to earn a regular role at the NHL level. He has rankings. Before the 2020-21 season, ESPN ranked Boston's system yet to make an impact for the Bruins despite being a first-round pick (18th 30th out of 31 teams. overall) back in 2017. The Finnish defenseman is a smart, quality skater The Bruins' prospect pool has certainly improved since December when with a good two-way skill set. He's not going to light up the stat sheet with that ESPN ranking was released, and a strong 2021 draft last month crazy scoring numbers but he plays a poised, fundamentally strong certainly helped in that regard. game.

Here's an updated list of the top 10 prospects in the Bruins organization. The ideal scenario for the Bruins is Vaakanainen giving them valuable depth as a consistent third-pairing guy next season. Four years after 1. Fabian Lysell, LW being drafted, it's time for his skill set to finally translate to the NHL level.

The Bruins injected some much-needed elite-level offensive talent into 7. Jack Achan, D their prospect pool with the selection of Lysell in the first round (No. 21 overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. Achan doesn't have tremendous size (5-foot-8 and 178 pounds) but he certainly plays like someone well over six feet. He brings plenty of "I think I’m a dynamic player," Lysell said on a Zoom call with reporters physicality to the ice and doesn't shy away from puck battles in the dirty the night he was drafted. "I like to challenge opponents with pace. I try to areas. His offensive game is impressive as well, and he tallied 10 points use my skating to create separation from myself and to be in those (one goal, nine assists) in 19 games for the the Providence Bruins last dangerous scoring areas. That’s what I think." season.

Lysell projects to be a top-six forward at the NHL level. His speed, shot Achan played three games in Boston in 2020-21 and could get a larger and offensive awareness are all impressive. He consistently creates look this coming season, especially if he has a good training offense for himself and teammates. Expectations are rightfully high with camp/preseason. Lysell given his talent and potential. 8. Brett Harrison, C 2. Mason Lohrei, D The Bruins needed to add center depth in the 2021 draft, so the selection Lohrei is a fast-rising prospect who enjoyed an excellent 2020-21 season of Brett Harrison in the third round made a lot of sense. He tallied 37 for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. The 2020 second-round draft points (21 goals, 16 assists) in 58 games for the OHL's Oshawa pick tallied 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 48 games. At 6-foot-4 and Generals in 2019-20 before the pandemic wiped out the 2020-21 OHL 205 pounds at age 20, Lohrei has ideal size for someone who projects to campaign. At 6-foot-2 and 188 pounds as an 18-years-old forward, be a quality NHL defenseman. His two-way game is impressive, and Harrison has ideal size at a premium position. His speed is not incredible, there's little doubt he's the top defenseman prospect in Boston's system. but his goal scoring ability makes him an exciting prospect. Don't be surprised if he becomes the Bruins' top prospect regardless of position in the near future. 9. Curtis Hall, C

Lohrei is headed to Ohio State in the fall. The Ivy League didn't have a 2020-21 season amid the pandemic, so Hall did not play his junior season at Yale. Instead, he turned pro and 3. Jack Studnicka, C signed an entry-level contract with the Bruins in March. Hall played 13 The 2020-21 season was a bit disappointing for Studnicka, who was games for the Providence Bruins last season and should get plenty of run expected to play a larger role for the Bruins than he did. Studnicka in the AHL during the 2021-22 campaign. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds played 20 games in Boston and tallied just three points (one goal, two with a powerful shot, Hall is an intriguing talent with plenty of motivation. assists). He failed to score a goal in 11 games for the Providence Bruins, #NHLBruins forward prospect Curtis Hall on transitioning from Yale to but did post seven assists. the @AHLBruins last season: "It’s quicker, faster, guys are stronger. David Krejci's departure has opened up a massive opportunity for Really been doing my best to work on my footwork and my speed, as Studnicka entering training camp. Ice time will be up for grabs this well as getting stronger." pic.twitter.com/Hiif9z80IA— Boston Bruins season and he needs to earn a chunk of it, whether that's playing center (@NHLBruins) August 3, 2021 or on the wing. Studnicka is a very good playmaker and skates well. He 10. Kyle Keyser, G has the offensive skill set the B's need, and now it's about being a consistent player against NHL competition. Keyser could be the No. 1 goalie for the AHL's Providence Bruins with Jeremy Swayman likely spending all or most of the upcoming season at 4. John Beecher, C the NHL level and Dan Vladar being traded to the Calgary Flames. It's a Injury (and shoulder surgery in February) derailed Beecher's sophomore huge opportunity for Keyser to establish himself as a valuable prospect in season at Michigan, although he still managed to tally eight points (four the system. He posted a 3-1-1 record with a .913 save percentage for the goals, four assists) in 16 games. He's returning to the Wolverines for his P-Bruins last year, and that's a good foundation to build on entering the junior season, and it's a huge year for him. Beecher has an opportunity to new season. be a top player and a leader for a Michigan team that's absolutely loaded Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 with elite talent (four picks in the top five of the 2021 draft, including No. 1 selection Owen Power). Beecher has excellent size (6-foot-3 and 210 pounds) and the type of speed NHL coaches covet. The Bruins need prospects with top-six center potential following David Krejci's recent departure and Patrice Bergeron turning 36 years old last month. 1191310 Boston Bruins were laughing, because we were like, ‘They have no idea.’ But they wouldn’t have known. Because he didn’t get to go on a great playoff run with us or do something special like he would have done had we finished Bruins prospect Mason Lohrei is on pace for NHL impact: ‘I didn’t know out that season. Here’s this unknown kid. ‘What is Boston doing?’ Well, he was going to become special’ Boston did a great job, along with a couple other teams, that really thought that highly of him.”

The next step By Fluto Shinzawa Aug 4, 2021 In 2020-21, the Resch Center, Green Bay’s home rink, was among the facilities that opened its doors to college and pro scouts. Jamie Langenbrunner took advantage of the opportunity, watching Lohrei about Mason Lohrei is everything the Bruins need on the left side of their blue six or eight times in person. line. He is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound left-shot defenseman who controls the game in all three zones. He is fast, agile, strong and smart. Lohrei is “You’ve got an offensively talented defenseman,” said the Bruins’ director equally comfortable walking the blue line on the power play as he is of player development. “Long. Rangy. Continuing to add strength to him negating sticks in front of his net. is going to be important.”

It is a pity, then, that Lohrei is 20 and yet to play his first college game. Lohrei extended the attack mentality he learned as a forward. He also emphasized his net-front work and shutdown play. It came with a cost: a “Mason hasn’t done a lot of shaving in his life,” said Pat Mikesch, Lohrei’s three-game suspension for a hit to the head of Dubuque’s Matthew coach at Green Bay of the USHL. “He’s still growing up a lot with his Savoie. body. So there’s still going to be a lot of growth.” “My first year I went to Green Bay, offensively, I was kind of a wild card,” The Bruins required immediate left-side assistance. It’s why they Lohrei said. “I think I tried to be more offensive my first year than last invested $6 million annually in Mike Reilly and Derek Forbort. year. Last year, I really focused on defense and playing in my own end Lohrei, meanwhile, is developing into a mix of the mobile Reilly and the and letting the rest of the game unfold.” stay-at-home Forbort. The incoming Ohio State freshman led the Adding weight has not been easy for Lohrei. He checked in for Gamblers with 19 goals and 40 assists in 48 games in 2020-21. Lohrei development camp at Warrior Ice Arena at 200 pounds, below his was the USHL Defenseman of the Year. previous playing weight. His stay with the Buckeyes may not last long. It is a nice timeline for the This summer, Lohrei has been busy with plyometrics to increase his Bruins’ 2020 second-round selection. Lohrei is arguably the explosiveness. Putting on muscle and keeping it steady during the organization’s brightest amateur prospect. season will be a priority at Ohio State to improve his shot and puck- “I knew he was going to be good. I didn’t know he was going to become protection skills. special,” Mikesch said. “That’s what he’s kind of become now. He’s just a How long he stays a Buckeye is unknown. different defenseman than you get to see very often these days with his size, skating and offensive instincts.” “I’m not going to even pretend I saw Mason, in the two years we had him, going as far as he did,” Mikesch said. “He went from being a pro prospect Late bloomer to a future NHLer. It changed that much.” In 2019, the 18-year-old Lohrei became eligible for the NHL Draft. He did The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 not get picked. NHL Central Scouting did not even rank Lohrei among their 217-player list of North American skaters.

It may have been because Lohrei, who played most of 2018-19 at Culver Military Academy, was still learning how to play defense.

Lohrei played forward until he was 16. He made the switch to defense, where he felt more comfortable processing the entire rink.

With the move came a career-changing series of adjustments under Culver coach Steve Palmer. It took time. Lohrei tried things at both ends of the ice. He often failed.

But he learned.

It was around February or March 2020 when the gangly Lohrei’s parts started to align more neatly. He wasn’t repeating mistakes. Pucks stuck to his stick instead of bobbling onto opponents’ blades. Lohrei became an offensive play-driver while defending against top players.

Green Bay’s season, like everyone else’s, came to an abrupt and unexpected stop. But by then, Lohrei had made enough of an impression.

“That’s where I give the Boston Bruins’ scouting staff huge credit,” Mikesch said. “Our season, all of a sudden, gets stopped because of COVID. But they had seen enough of that transition already that they were like, ‘There’s something big-time going on here.’ ”

From what Mikesch could gather, the Bruins and Kings were hottest for Lohrei in the 2020 draft. Boston’s first pick was in the second round as the club had wheeled its first-rounder to Anaheim in the Ondrej Kase trade.

In the second round, the Kings took defenseman Helge Grans at No. 35 and defenseman Brock Faber 10 slots later. The Bruins took Lohrei at No. 58. By Mikesch’s recollection, the TV draft experts were caught off guard, not expecting the 132nd-ranked North American skater to go so high.

“No offense to the NHL Network people that were covering it, but they had no idea who Mason Lohrei was,” Mikesch said. “It was hysterical. We 1191311 Carolina Hurricanes It’s hard, after winning at least one series in three straight postseasons — the preliminary-round win over the Rangers still counts, given the Hurricanes’ regular-season struggles with that team — to see such Status quo wasn’t going to get it done for Hurricanes. Maybe this sweeping change. In some cases, like the departures of Nedeljkovic and massive retooling will. Hamilton and the arrival of DeAngelo, it’s downright infuriating.

But there’s a message here: Mere tweaks to this roster weren’t enough. Incremental improvement wasn’t going to be good enough to beat teams BY LUKE DECOCK like the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in their pomp. More drastic measures were required to meet the increasing expectations this

group faces. More depth. More experience. Now that the dust has settled on two cataclysmic weeks of player It was time for a change, even if few expected this much of a change. movement that turned over a full third of the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster, Everyone is on the same page now: As far as the Hurricanes have come, two conclusions have clearly emerged from the madness. the status quo wasn’t good enough. The Hurricanes still think their core group of young players is good News Observer LOADED: 08.05.2021 enough to win a Stanley Cup.

They didn’t think the players around them were good enough to win a Stanley Cup.

After three trips through the postseason that saw the Hurricanes win four playoff series before being ultimately derailed by what were unquestionably better teams, combined with the unfortunate but inevitable free-agent departure of Dougie Hamilton, it was time for some retooling.

It’s the hockey equivalent of a 40,000 mile service. Change the oil, rotate the tires, give it new brake pads and rotors, flush the coolant and leave it parked out back.

So while the long-term foundation of the team remains intact — starting with young stars Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Martin Necas — almost all of the complementary pieces on the board have been shuffled.

Guys like Warren Foegele, Brock McGinn and Petr Mrazek had three kicks at the playoff can, and they all certainly had their moments of glory, but were too often ineffective when it mattered most. Even as Alex Nedeljkovic saved the Hurricanes’ season, the team was clearly never sold on the rookie goalie even before his playoff miscues.

And Hamilton, a dynamic regular-season player who also seemed to fade into the wallpaper in the postseason, nevertheless would still have been a fit here, just not for the $9 million he got from the New Jersey Devils. A tip of the cap to Hamilton, who will be missed.

Not everyone was deemed replaceable: Jordan Martinook got a three- year, back-loaded contract to stay, a stabilizing move for an otherwise quiet dressing room that will need some ballast with the arrival of Tony DeAngelo, who even in the most positive light has been somewhat of a loose cannon over the course of his career.

The young stars still get top billing, but they’re surrounded by new players who arrive with the very specific mandate to get this team further in the postseason than the ones they replaced.

That starts in net, where Aanti Raanta has put up terrific numbers when healthy — which hasn’t been all that often. Raanta has all the attributes of a No. 1 goalie other than durability. It makes sense to partner him with the durable and reliable Frederik Andersen, who ironically enough was criticized for his playoff shortcomings with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who in turn replaced him with … Mrazek.

Familiarity and contempt and all that.

The fourth line was remodeled with Martinook, Derek Stepan and Josh Leivo, and there’s still room — and about $4 million in cap space after Svechnikov is re-signed, now priority No. 1 — for another top-nine forward to fill out the group. Stepan’s best years may be behind him, but in a limited role his smarts and leadership should be valuable to a young team. Leivo has done elsewhere what Foegele and McGinn did here, but at a fraction of the price.

Hamilton isn’t replaceable, but the Hurricanes tried to make it up in numbers: The polarizing DeAngelo will get yet another chance as a right- shot power-play specialist; Ethan Bear is only 24 and a useful second- pairing piece; and both Ian Cole and Brendan Smith offer the kind of veteran presence the Hurricanes have lacked on the back end.

On paper, that’s a stronger group at the bottom even if it’s weaker at the top without Hamilton, but a lack of defensive depth has been a key factor in all three of the Hurricanes’ playoff exits. 1191312 Carolina Hurricanes In those first few years in Toronto, Andersen played behind a below- average defense that consistently left him exposed, particularly in the slot areas as the heat maps below show in red at five-on-five.

What does a Frederik Andersen-Antti Raanta goalie tandem bring to the Via HockeyViz Hurricanes? But despite their defensive shortcomings, he responded with strong seasons between the pipes, stopping more than expected to help boost By Sara Civian and Shayna Goldman Aug 4, 2021 the Maple Leafs’ chances while playing in 60-plus games per regular season.

The following season, though, the team and goaltender started trending Carolina general manager Don Waddell made a few things clear after the in opposite directions. Andersen was still playing behind a below-average Hurricanes traded homegrown Calder finalist Alex Nedeljkovic to the Red defensive team in 2019-20, but they made strides from the year before Wings on July 24. First of all, they were seeking more experience when it and gave him a lot of offensive support. But through his 52 games, he came to their starting goaltender. had his worst season yet as he stopped just 90.9 percent of the shots put on net and allowed 10.3 more goals than expected in all situations. “I think we’re looking more toward the veteran side of things,” Waddell told The Athletic at the time. “We’re in a win-now mode, and having a A knee injury contributed to his 2020-21 struggles and contributed to him veteran goalie makes the most sense for our franchise right now. So playing less than half of the games. But, once again, Andersen’s game hopefully that’s the direction we end up in.” dipped when he did play with a career-low .895 save percentage and - 11.2 GSAx. And that’s in front of the best defense he’s played behind in Waddell also mentioned he didn’t want to pay two goalies in the “$3.5 to Toronto; the Maple Leafs shot and expected goal generation at five-on- $4 million range,” he’d prefer to pay a proven veteran type that sort of five and short-handed actually ranked in the top 10 in the league this past money, then “hopefully one on the lesser side.” season. So free agency came along, and the Canes ended up with a whole new But Andersen recognizes the direction his game has trended and is look in net. The Maple Leafs signed Petr Mrazek, who started in the looking to bounce back with Carolina. majority of the Canes’ three consecutive playoff runs, to a three-year contract with a $3.8 million AAV. New Jersey signed Jonathan Bernier “I think last year was a difficult year personally and dealing with some (the rights to whom and a third-round pick were the Nedeljkovic trade injuries, I wasn’t able to play the way I wanted to,” Andersen said. “I return) to a two-year contract with a $4.125 million AAV. definitely feel very motivated to get back to that level again.”

The Hurricanes ended up signing former Toronto goalie Frederik With this signing, the Hurricanes are betting on a resurgence from a Andersen for two years at a $4.5 million AAV and former Coyote Antti netminder who showed his abilities in the regular season behind a Raanta to a two-year, $2 million dollar AAV. struggling defense before his game started trending down.

An Andersen-Raanta tandem is consistent with the goal to pay one Goaltending is tricky to project, and much of it relies on what a goalie north of $3 million and the other $2 million, but does it make the goaltender has done in recent years. Andersen’s track record, especially Hurricanes a better team than a Nedeljkovic-Mrazek tandem would given the Leafs’ defensive adjustments, is concerning. So is the fact that have? the netminder is 31, and players generally decline at this point in their career. To answer this question, there are several red flags we must address about both goalies — and tons of context we must consider. First, a look The Hurricanes have generally been one of the better defensive teams in at the environment Nedeljkovic and Mrazek were playing in with the recent years. But, this year’s blue line will be different after their early Canes versus how they performed. offseason additions and subtractions.

Last season at five-on-five, the Hurricanes were one of the better shot The free-agent goaltenders signed for $4.5 million on average, which is suppressing teams in the league. Where they struggled the most was closer to that of a tandem goaltender than an outright starter. At this point that net front area, as the heatmap below shows in red. in his career, that’s a safer bet than expecting him to return to the starting form that he showed years ago. If Carolina’s defense can keep Andersen Via HockeyViz insulated — particularly in the scoring areas right in front of the blue paint Nedeljkovic ultimately led Hurricanes goalies in games played last — while he refines his game, there’s a chance the team was right to take season. He went on to save 12.92 more goals than expected when the chance on him. factoring in his workload in terms of expected goals, which puts a value Via HockeyViz on every unblocked shot attempt turned his way. The netminder was not only one of the best rookie goaltenders but ranked high in percentage of But, it also puts importance on having balance in net with a reliable quality starts and steals as defined by Alan Wells at Raw Charge. partner.

Mrazek performed well in 12 starts when healthy, saving a high rate of That’s where Raanta comes in. goals above expected. In the limited sample of games he played, he was exposed to a high rate of those net-front attempts. James Reimer While the downward trend in Andersen’s game is highlighted in blue in allowed slightly more goals than expected at the end of his Hurricanes’ the chart above, for Raanta in purple, it’s the size of those data points tenure, despite playing behind an above-average defense. that stands out. Playing time, or a lack thereof, is one of the defining qualities of his career. Injuries derailed his time in Arizona when he got Carolina’s strength in net has been questioned over the years, but his first shot at a starting role. There, he played 104 games over the past Mrazek and Reimer both played some of their best hockey with the four seasons, saving 92 percent of the all situation shots he faced and 28 Hurricanes. The chart below helps depict that in terms of rate of goals more goals than expected. saved above expected, with data point size reflecting ice time. Mrazek is highlighted in pink, Reimer in green, and Nedeljkovic in orange. With any player, context is important — and that can be particularly true for a goaltender. Raanta didn’t play behind an elite defense with the The Hurricanes are going into the season with a completely new tandem Coyotes, as the red areas of the heat maps below show. in Andersen and Raanta — raising those same questions around their crease. The Finnish goaltender met the challenge of that workload through the years, especially in his first year in Arizona where he saved 25 more Andersen split the net in Anaheim for three seasons before becoming the goals than expected in 47 games — a career best in performance and Maple Leafs’ starter. Over the past five seasons, he played 268 games durability. But in two of those four years in Arizona, he was limited to for Toronto, earning a .914 save percentage in all situations and saving just 12 games apiece — testing his ability to get back into a rhythm about 16 more goals than expected. While that’s impressive on the between starts and injuries. surface, how his game trended in recent years is particularly important for the Hurricanes. Via HockeyViz Despite injuries shortening his recent seasons, Raanta feels he can still handle playing a significant workload and playing more will allow him to improve on the fly.

“I feel like every goalie who can play a lot of games, you can always improve when you get that next chance quickly. If you have a bad game, you just jump right in and keep playing,” Raanta said.

While there isn’t a structured plan for playing time distribution, he’s hoping to get playing time and perform at a high level. After years of playing behind subpar defenses, Carolina should be a change of pace.

Raanta credited the team’s hard work and “no quit” mentality.

“When you see the guys who are in front of me and all the D there, and obviously even if you have a great defense, you still need your forwards to work hard to come back and help you in your own zone,” he said. “I think the Hurricanes have been that kind of team for a couple years now.”

The 6-foot tall netminder knows size isn’t his strength, unlike his new goaltending partner, Andersen. That’s something the team in front of the crease will have to keep in mind, too. His game relies on his ability to move in the crease, his flexibility and, most importantly, reading plays.

“You don’t want to be overplaying things, you just want to stay calm and wait for the plays to come to you and then react. I think that’s kind of what my game’s going to be,” Raanta said.

That’s what he’s going to focus on to help get back to his game from a few seasons ago.

“Hopefully I can bring back that old me from a couple years ago,” he said. “I think the last couple years, I’ve been playing a little bit differently or at least it feels like that, so hopefully I can get that confidence back and trust myself, make the saves whenever I need to.”

Carolina made a safe bet with the Raanta signing because a $2 million cap hit is closer to that of a backup than a netminder who could evenly rotate with Andersen. But they’ll likely need closer to a shared split to find success with this tandem.

Both goaltenders can technically fit the “veteran” role Waddell so craved in the regular season, and both have promising features that maybe just needed a change of scenery. But, given their playoff histories, it’s tough to expect this tandem — as it stands — will take this team to the next step on paper. The Canes are no doubt relying on bounce-back seasons from both netminders.

Raanta started in none of the five career playoff games he’s played, allowed eight goals in those five games, and in the last two had a 6.00 GAA and a .714 save percentage. Don’t judge him too harshly for that because he didn’t get the chance to start, and there was much more going on around him to cause that than his performance in net — but it still needs to be said. Again, he’s played in front of some weak defenses and his upside is breathtaking, but this is a risk no matter how you spin it.

There’s risk to the strategy since there are no guarantees with either netminder; an injury to Raanta or struggles from Andersen could quickly put this team back on the hunt for another goalie. But there’s the reward of a cost-effective tandem if both can rebound to that level from just a few seasons ago. It’ll be a true test of Carolina’s apparent ability to squeeze the most out of its players — Andersen and Raanta at their best could be one of the strongest goaltending duos in the league. But that’s asking a lot.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191313 Chicago Blackhawks He wants to prove his .928 save percentage last season was no fluke — “I may not be as fast as I was at 20, but the experience that I’ve gained . . . [has] made me better at reading plays.”

After processing shocking trade, Marc-Andre Fleury ‘excited now’ to join And he’s determined to win, not only to prove the Knights foolish for Blackhawks trading him but also to uphold a standard he has maintained over his “I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” Fleury said entire Hall of Fame-destined career. Not once in 15 seasons as a starter Wednesday. “It was just me personally [deciding] what I wanted to do. has he missed the playoffs. I’ve talked to guys, and I keep hearing so many great things.” “I’m very fortunate Stan gave me some time to reflect on what I wanted to do, what was best for me and my family,” he said. “[I’m] excited now. [I’m] excited to move and try to help the Blackhawks.” By Ben Pope Aug 4, 2021, 5:54pm CDT Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 08.05.2021

Marc-Andre Fleury, stunned initially by his trade to the Blackhawks, just needed time.

At 36, his life involves more now than Vezina Trophies and Stanley Cups and being a decorated NHL goaltender. It also revolves around his wife and his three young kids.

Having only switched teams once — and not via trade — in his 17-year career, the decision to uproot his family from Las Vegas required significantly more thought than the Golden Knights seemingly gave to dealing him away.

“I felt pretty lucky I didn’t have to move so many times, like a lot of guys have to do,” Fleury said Wednesday, measured yet earnest in his first public comments since the trade.

“It’s not an easy thing, right? It’s stressful. It’s a process to find somewhere comfortable for your family to be, a good school. There’s lots in [this situation to consider] for them. I’ve been lucky to play for a long time and have won, too. I can’t think about me all the time.”

He mulled it over five “good nights’ sleep.” He talked with his wife Veronique, former Penguins teammate-turned-current Hawks assistant Chris Kunitz, longtime goalie friend and former late-career Chicago transplant Cam Ward, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews and many others — a comprehensive cross-section of the connections the instantly likable, relatable Quebec native has made over his two decades in hockey.

And then he called Hawks general manager Stan Bowman on Sunday to say he was coming.

“I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” Fleury said. “It was just me [deciding] personally what I wanted to do. I’ve talked to guys, and I keep hearing so many great things about the team and how they treat the players and the families. Stan did a great job, too, of getting some players over the summer, trying to make this team competitive right away. That’s also very appealing.”

“From my first conversation with him, it was very consistent,” Bowman said. “He said, ‘Look, thanks so much for the call.’ He 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.”

Fleury explored Lincoln Park, Lake View and other Chicago neighborhoods earlier this week, putting a “good plan in place” for his family. He visited Fifth Third Arena, selecting No. 29 for his new Hawks sweater and presumably seeing the massive “Welcome” billboard the Hawks lit up for him outside.

The billboard outside Fifth Third Arena tonight: pic.twitter.com/nWLAK02AkC

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) August 1, 2021

He’s able to reflect on his Knights tenure nostalgically but warmly now. He recalls showing up in 2017, not knowing “if people would like hockey,” before experiencing four years of incredible atmospheres in the NHL’s exploding new market.

With the Hawks, he’s looking forward to befriending, mentoring and splitting starts with Kevin Lankinen — “a very talented goalie,” in his words.

He’s (jokingly) happy to no longer have to, at least in games, face Patrick Kane — “one of the guys who gave me the most trouble in shootouts during my career.” 1191314 Chicago Blackhawks "(Jonathan) Toews looks pretty good and hopefully he goes again. (He's) another guy I got to know over the years.

"It'll be fun. Obviously they've been around a long time, had a lot of 'Good night's sleep" has Fleury ready to roll with Blackhawks success, and hopefully I can just do my part to help the team win some games."

John Dietz Daily Herald Times LOADED: 08.05.2021

Once the shock of being traded from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Blackhawks dissipated a bit, Marc-Andre Fleury started asking questions.

What's this organization like? How do they treat their players? How good might they be next season? And -- because he has 8- and 6-year-old daughters -- where are the good schools?

Fleury confided in former Blackhawks goaltenders Robin Lehner and Cam Ward, as well as former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Chris Kunitz.

His wife, quite obviously, chimed in as well.

In the end, there was no light bulb moment where Fleury decided, "YES! I'm coming to the Hawks!"

"I don't know, honestly," said a smiling, reflective Fleury when asked exactly when the decision was made. "Just sleeping. (After) a good night's sleep, right?

"I think just talking with different guys and talking with the staff and talking to the family also, to see what's good for everyone. It just adds up and then, yeah, it's exciting."

Fleury was admittedly caught off guard when his agent, Allan Walsh, called to let him know that Twitter was abuzz with news he'd been traded. This wasn't the way a 16-year veteran and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner expected to be treated.

But the hard feelings didn't last long. Business is business, after all, and sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

"It's summer," said Fleury, who posted career bests in save percentage (.928) and goals-against average (1.98) last season. "It was that time where it's always a little bit scary. You never know what's going to happen. I haven't been traded before, right? It is a little surprising."

Fleury came to Chicago to find a place to live, as well as to meet GM Stan Bowman and some of the players who have been working out at Fifth Third Arena. Bowman was gushing Monday after sitting down with his new goaltender.

"The one thing I'll say about Marc-Andre Fleury is ... it's really incredible how when you talk to people around the league he is the most beloved teammate on every team he's every played on," Bowman said. "And I can see why. Loves the game. Loves to play. Just is someone you want to be around as much as possible."

So where did this relaxed, easygoing attitude come from?

First and foremost, Fleury understands how fortunate he is to be a professional hockey player. But it's more than that. With every year that's gone by and every place he's been -- from Pittsburgh to Vegas and now to Chicago -- he also gets the chance to make new friends.

"To me, you've got to have good chemistry to win consistently and you need each other's back," Fleury said. "I love a good bunch of guys, having fun with them and winning. When you win as a group that's when you get closer, too. It's a lot of fun."

So will his winning ways continue with the Hawks? Remember, this is a goaltender who has hoisted the Stanley Cup three times and also helped lead Vegas to three conference finals and one Stanley Cup Final.

Fleury believes it's possible, especially with the additions of Seth Jones, Jake McCabe and Tyler Johnson.

He's also excited about one other thing -- having Patrick Kane on his side for once.

"Kane's one of the guys that gave me the most trouble in shootouts during my career," Fleury said. "So looking forward to get to practice with him every day and have some good battles with him. 1191315 Chicago Blackhawks

How Blackhawks have set strong foundation during rebuild

BY CHARLIE ROUMELIOTIS

The Blackhawks have had one of the busiest offseasons in a very long time. That's no hyperbole.

They traded franchise icons Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, whose playing career is over but has three years left on his contract. They also shipped away defenseman Adam Boqvist and a first-round pick in 2022.

They acquired potential Norris Trophy candidate Seth Jones along with his brother Caleb, a two-time Stanley Cup champion in Tyler Johnson, and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and a future Hall of Famer in Marc-Andre Fleury.

They selected shutdown defenseman Nolan Allan with the No. 32 overall pick, Colton Dach — Kirby's younger brother — in the second round and six others in the 2021 NHL Draft.

They parted ways with Vinnie Hinostroza, David Kampf and Pius Suter. They re-signed Adam Gaudette and are likely to do the same with pending restricted free agents Brandon Hagel and Alex Nylander.

And finally, they brought in top-four defenseman Jake McCabe on a four- year contract and locked up a physical depth forward in Jujhar Khaira on a two-year deal.

Got all that? The Blackhawks have reshaped their roster in a significant way over the last month, and it sure feels like the team sees an opportunity here to speed up the rebuild.

"It was busy," Blackhawks President/GM Stan Bowman said. You have a plan in place, and you don’t know if it’s ever going to all come together. I would say what we’re doing here, it’s all part of a process that was set in motion a couple of years ago. We’ve been trying to position ourselves to have flexibility to be nimble enough to make strategic additions at the right time."

While the moves may look like the Blackhawks have shifted into win-now mode, Bowman says the path hasn't changed after the organization sent a letter to their fanbase in October of 2020 that vowed to be more transparent about the rebuild.

"We still want to build this as we go forward, as we show progress this year and continue to see our young players grow," he said. "If anything, we’re trying to surround those players with stronger players to give our team more confidence that we can grow as a group.

"For sure, when you bring in experienced players who have won Stanley Cups and had success individually, there’s reason for optimism and excitement. This is an extension of our plan from before. We’re not really changing course. What we’re trying to do is surround young players that are here, give them a good foundation and have a strong team on the ice."

The Blackhawks already had a strong foundation with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. It got even stronger with the additions of Fleury, Johnson, Jones and McCabe, not to mention the leadership roles Alex DeBrincat and Connor Murphy have grown into as well.

And it should make for an intriguing 2021-22 season for the Blackhawks, who could be a potential X-factor in the Central Division.

"We’re really trying to continue to build up assets but, at the same time, we want to try to take a step forward and improve as a team," Bowman said. "We believe in our young players that are here, we want to support them as best we can. We think adding a few players like this of experience that are still big contributors and are able to add something to our group, we think that’ll help support our young group as we continue to go forward. Lots of reasons for excitement and optimism."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191316 Chicago Blackhawks kinds of veteran additions were always in the plans at some point, Bowman said. The players just happened to be available and the money just happened to work sooner than most probably expected.

Blackhawks takeaways: From Marc-Andre Fleury to Dylan Strome to “We have been planning to have flexibility to do these types of moves,” Brandon Hagel, where does everybody stand? Bowman said. “The thing is, you don’t really know when these players are going to come available. So you have to be flexible enough. We’re planning now for next offseason and the year after. That’s part of what By Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers Aug 4, 2021 we do. But to say we knew all of these transactions would come into place at this point and time, that would be inaccurate. What we knew

back then is we were trying to set up an environment where we would The Blackhawks’ transformative offseason is pretty much over, as Marc- have the flexibility to do it, have the assets to do it, and have the cap Andre Fleury’s decision to continue his career in Chicago was the last space to do it. So when we set out to say we were going to rebuild our major piece of the roster puzzle. There’s still some housekeeping to take roster, that’s in fact what we want to do. We want to rely on the growth of care of, but the new-look Blackhawks are mostly assembled. young players to carry this forward. That’s still the case. … We’ve got a lot of young players still here and more on the way. Supplementing the General manager Stan Bowman and Fleury each spoke with reporters roster with some accomplished players at the same time is a good thing, this week to put a bow on the offseason machinations. Here are our too.” takeaways from the week, and our expectations moving forward. Fleury is coming off the best season of his career, and his first Vezina Yes, Fleury was blindsided by his trade to Chicago, finding out when his Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. That he did so at 36 is remarkable agent, Allan Walsh, saw it on Twitter and called him. Yes, he took a few enough, but the rebound from even the 2019-20 season is astounding. In days to decide if he really wanted to uproot his family and move to an 2021, Fleury posted the best GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected) of his unfamiliar city. career, at 19.2 — by far the best in the league. A year earlier, he was at minus-14.03, the worst mark of his career since Evolving Hockey started No, it had nothing to do with Chicago or the Blackhawks. keeping track in 2007-08. His first two years in Vegas were solid, at 14.3 “I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” Fleury said on and 6.75. Wednesday. “I think it was just me, personally, (figuring out) what I So the big question, of course, is whether the 2019-20 season was the wanted to do.” aberration, and whether he can he repeat his 2021 success. After all, Fleury had never been traded before. He’d seen countless teammates players aren’t supposed to get better into their late 30s. dealt over the years, but experiencing the human side of the business “I changed a few little things, but not too much,” Fleury said of his stellar firsthand — the sudden flood of concerns about family, about friends, season. “I might not be as fast I was at 20 years old. But I think the about finding a house and schools — was “stressful.” experience that I’ve gained throughout those years and all those games, So Fleury talked it over with his family. He discussed his options with his all those practices, made me better at reading plays and stuff like that. agent. He toured the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods with his So I think those are things that help me now. Obviously, Vegas had a wife to get a feel for the city. And he called up some friends and former team that had a very strong defense and that blocked a lot of shots. So teammates from around the league — former Blackhawks players Cam sometimes they make me look good.” Ward, Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams, among them — to get a sense of The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have had one of the league’s worst what life is like in Chicago. defenses for years now. Fleury can only hope that the additions of Seth “I keep hearing so many great things about the team and how they treat Jones and Jake McCabe will help address that. the players and the families,” Fleury said. “I thought Stan (Bowman) did a Fleury’s at least glad he won’t have to face Kane in a shootout again great job, too, of getting some players over the summer, trying to make anytime soon. At least, not one that counts. this team competitive right away. That’s also very appealing.” “Kane’s one of the guys who gave me the most trouble in shootouts So when the emotions cooled and the dust settled, of course, Fleury during my career,” he said. “Looking forward to getting to practice with decided to keep playing. He just won the Vezina Trophy. His love of the him every day and having some good battles with him. I think Toews game is legendary in hockey circles. looks pretty good and hopefully he goes again and another guy I got to The guy just needed a minute, OK? know over the years. I think it’ll be fun. They’ve been around a long time, had a lot of success, hopefully I can just do my part to help the team win “The team was good (about) giving me a few days to reflect and think some games.” about it,” he said. “It was good to have a few days to think things through.” The Blackhawks definitely had money on their mind throughout this process. Few teams know as well as the Blackhawks what it’s like to be The Blackhawks aren’t the only team that shifted from a rebuilding in salary-cap hell. And with some light finally ahead of them with large mentality to more of a win-now mode this summer. Their old rivals, the expiring contracts nearing their end, they’re trying not to return there. Los Angeles Kings, had a similar offseason, signing perennial Selke Trophy candidate Phillip Danault to a six-year contract, signing veteran They moved Duncan Keith’s contract and didn’t retain any of it. They defenseman Alex Edler and trading for winger Viktor Arvidsson. This, dealt Brent Seabrook’s contract, which was going to weigh them down after focusing on building one of the league’s best prospect pools in until 2024. They’ve positioned themselves to have a lot of cap space in recent seasons. The decision to take the next step in the process was the coming years. spurred on by the venerable core of Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, The next few years will be a little bit more challenging cap-wise. Seth Jonathan Quick and Dustin Brown, all of whom are now in their 30s. Jones’ new deal will go into effect next season while Kane and Toews Doughty, in particular, made it clear he wouldn’t be happy if the Kings are still being paid $10.5 million. This coming season could require some waited another year to start adding NHL-ready talent. cap gymnastics to be cap compliant for the opening day of the season, So did Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews make a similar plea to but the Blackhawks should be able to shift enough players to Rockford Bowman? for a day to get to $81.5 million.

“Not in those terms,” Bowman said. “I talk to them often and, of course, Bowman didn’t foresee any more transactions this offseason in order to hockey players want to win. I would say if you ask any player on our be cap compliant in October. team or another team, ‘What do you think about trying to win this year or “No, we aren’t going to have to make any moves,” Bowman said. “We three years from now?’ I think everybody wants to win (now). That’s why might make a move if we think it makes sense for the future for the team they’re athletes and that’s why they’re competitive. Of course, you know or in that transaction, if it benefits us. But we’re in a good situation they want to win. But it was not a reaction to those types of relative to the salary cap. We have some flexibility there with how we conversations.” compose our roster for the opening night. That said, Bowman wasn’t exactly planning on going on this kind of a “We still got Andrew Shaw, who is not going to be playing this year, so it spending spree in the summer of 2021. After all, it was only 10 months gives us the option of using the long-term injury if we choose to do that. earlier the team publicly acknowledged it was in a rebuild. But these But we’ve looked at our roster and our cap situation many times, and you to a two-year contract with a $3.25 million cap hit with the Detroit Red know, we have a lot of options. I think all the moves that we made were Wings. done strategically so that we’re going to have the flexibility.” The Army of Survivors, an advocacy group founded by survivors of The Blackhawks will likely build their season-opening roster with Shaw’s convicted sexual assaulter Larry Nassar, told TSN that Bowman should $3.9 million cap hit to get to as close as $81.5 million as possible and be placed on administrative leave from his role as Team USA’s general then place him on long-term injury once the season begins to maximize manager for the Olympic men’s hockey team while the lawsuits alleging his contract during the season. the Blackhawks mishandled and covered up sexual assault by former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010 are pending. The Blackhawks may make another move, but if they don’t, their last order of business will be to re-sign restricted free agents Alex Nylander USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said they’ve been in touch and Brandon Hagel. with both the NHL and the Blackhawks to “stay up to speed” on the progress of the lawsuits and the Jenner & Block investigation. Both are expected to be re-signed. It’s just a matter of how long it’ll take to agree on deals. Neither was arbitration eligible, so the Blackhawks do “Their investigation is still ongoing,” Kelleher said. “And with that have some leverage. underway, we’ll allow that investigation to take place and happen, and then we’ll just monitor it and, again, stay in communication with the In the case of Hagel, that process might take some additional time, Blackhawks and the NHL on it as it progresses.” according to a source. Hagel is not only not arbitration eligible this offseason, but he also isn’t next offseason. So while the Blackhawks Bowman said he plans to “cooperate fully” with the Jenner & Block loved what he brought this past season and foresee him being a piece of investigation, and Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in an internal their future, they don’t want to pay him a ton just yet. Again, they’re being memo that the findings would be made public. conscious of the salary cap. Hagel, of course, would like to be paid what he’s worth sooner rather than later. This will be something to watch over “What I’ll say is that USA Hockey has been in close contact with the the coming weeks. Blackhawks on a variety of topics,” Bowman said. “I’m not really involved in those conversations. Right now my responsibility is here with the Bowman provided an indication of who the Blackhawks are thinking will Blackhawks, to try to get our team to the top of the league and try to work line up down the middle for them this coming season. things out. As far as that, and USA Hockey goes, that’s probably not something I can directly comment on.” “Looking at our center position now, you’ve got Jonathan Toews coming back, Kirby (Dach) coming into his third season and Tyler Johnson The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 joining the mix, it gives us a real solid foundation of those three players down the middle,” Bowman said.

None of that is surprising. That does leave a few questions. One, who will be that fourth center? The Blackhawks do have an assortment of options as nearly every other forward has center experience. Lukas Reichel even began transitioning to center in Germany last season.

Dylan Strome (Kim Klement / USA Today)

Two, what about Dylan Strome? When Strome re-signed with the Blackhawks prior to last season, the thought was he could help ease the pain of not having Toews and Dach to begin the year and would have a chance to play himself into a bigger, future contract. Things didn’t play out as expected, though. Strome struggled offensively, was moved to wing at times and finally was a healthy scratch in some of the biggest games of the season. So, where does he stand?

“As far as Dylan goes, yeah, he’s played probably his best hockey at center,” Bowman said. “It’s not to say he won’t be playing center going forward, but also had some time on the wing. Johnson played some wing because they had a lot of centers in Tampa as well. So there could be a scenario where Johnson’s on the wing and Strome is at center.

“We’ve got (Henrik) Borgstrom coming in as well; Adam Gaudette. We’ve got a lot of centers. Some are going to be playing on the wing and that’s OK. I think Jeremy’s been pretty clear about this, that he loves the flexibility to move players from the wing to center and center to the wing. So we have a lot of forwards — with the exception of Kane, DeBrincat and Kubalik, they’re primarily wingers. Beyond that, though, most of the others have some experience at both. So where it all shakes out, I don’t quite know. I just know that we like having that depth at center.”

The Blackhawks did try to re-sign Vinnie Hinostroza, David Kampf and Pius Suter. All three players were made offers by the Blackhawks, and all three rejected those offers and tested free agency.

“Most of those decisions were primarily salary-cap related,” Bowman said. “We wanted to bring these players back. You negotiate with their agents and looking at where the numbers were as far as where we felt comfortable paying them and where they were looking in the market. There wasn’t really a match. When that happens, the players find roles elsewhere. That’s not that uncommon to have forwards move from team to team.

“We certainly made an attempt to keep them here but at the same time, I think some change is good for our forward group and I think looking forward, I like the look of our team right now and the players we have. We’ve got a fair amount of talent.”

Kampf signed a two-year contract with a $1.5 million cap hit with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hinostroza joined the Buffalo Sabres on a one- year, $1.05 million contract. Suter signed the biggest deal as he agreed 1191317 Colorado Avalanche

Darren Helm has “mixed emotions” about joining Avalanche after 14 years with Red Wings

Helm hoisted the Cup at age 21, and he hopes to hoist it again next summer at age 35

By MIKE CHAMBERS | PUBLISHED: August 4, 2021 at 12:43 p.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2021 at 1:24 p.m.

Avalanche free-agent addition Darren Helm won the Stanley Cup as an NHL rookie in 2008. The speedy forward played just seven regular- season games for Detroit in 2007-08, but 18 of 22 in the playoffs and all six in the Cup Final against Pittsburgh.

Helm hoisted the Cup at age 21, and after 14 seasons with the Red Wings, he hopes to hoist it again next summer at age 35.

“My first year, it was a great experience. Loved every part of it,” Helm said Wednesday on a Zoom call. “We missed another opportunity in ’09 and then it’s been a cold drought for the last (12) years. Really looking forward to (being) part of this team.”

Helm signed a one-year contract worth $1 million last Thursday with the Avs, a day after free agency began. He’ll likely step in on the fourth line and serve as a primary penalty killer, effectively replacing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, 36, who signed a two-year, $2 million deal with Tampa Bay last week.

Helm’s 744 career regular-season games with Detroit rank 17th-most for the Original Six franchise.

“Mixed emotions. Been here for a long time,” Helm said about leaving Detroit — likely for just one year. “I’ve raised a family here. I’m sure this will be home for my family when we’re done. (But) when I heard the news that everything had happened (with Colorado), I was extremely excited. Just really looking forward to playing with the Avs and being on a contending team.”

Helm is now the Avalanche’s oldest player at age 34. He also leads the club in playoff experience (82 games).

“Darren is a high-energy, competitive player who brings veteran leadership to our team,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said last week. “He helps our depth up front, is good on faceoffs and is an effective penalty killer.”

Denver Post: LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191318 Colorado Avalanche

Darren Helm ‘extremely excited’ to join Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche

By Scott MacDonald

Darren Helm was a rookie when the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008. He’s since spent the last 13 years chasing another one in the Motor City.

But after a long career spent in Detroit, Helm comes to Colorado in hopes of capturing the second Cup of his career, and the first for the Avalanche in 20 years.

“That’s something I’m very excited for,” Helm said of joining a Cup- contending Colorado team. “I’m really looking forward to it and be a part of this team and see what happens.”

Helm met with the Denver media Wednesday morning for the first time since he signed with the Avs on July 29. He reminisced about his long 14-year career with the Red Wings, while also imparting his excitement about coming to Colorado.

“It’s a little bit of mixed emotions. I’ve been (in Detroit) for a long time, I raised a family here,” Helm said. “When I heard the news, I was extremely excited. Really looking forward to playing with the Avs and being on a contending team.”

“The team that they’ve been building for the last couple of years, I think they’ve got a great squad. I just wanted to be part of it,” he added about why he wanted to join the Avalanche.

Helm could be one of those sneaky-good pick-ups this offseason. One that may not seem overly exciting at surface level, but is a more-than- serviceable depth signing. He’s a solid replacement on the fourth line for Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and serves a similar purpose, including picking up penalty kill duties—one of his specialities over his 14-year NHL career.

Helm ranked third on the Red Wings in PK time on ice per game, while also ranking third on the team in takeaways.

“I can use my speed to my advantage and get pressure up ice. I’m willing to block some shots. Those things help out a lot,” he said of his PK abilities.

At 34 years old, Darren Helm is now the oldest player in the Avs locker room. He has post-season experience; he’s won a Stanley Cup. It cannot be understated how important that sort of veteran leadership and experience is to such a young team like the Avalanche. Though it’s expected he will play fourth-line minutes, Helm’s presence on and off the ice should be invaluable.

“I’m just going to continue to do what I do. This is a great team. I just want to be a piece of the puzzle and continue to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” he said. “I don’t think I have a great amount of wisdom to pass on, but just to be here and show the guys what I’ve done to stay in the league a long time. These guys are great, they’re professionals and I’m just excited to be a part of it.

“My main focus is getting down there, getting settled in and meeting the guys and getting camp started. There’s a long road ahead, but I just want to get my foot in the door and get to meet everyone and play with everyone and just bond.”

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191319 Colorado Avalanche was a collective “No” from some fans. Others considered it an okay trade. We will miss watching you grow and prosper into an even more confident player Conor.

One fan’s personal goodbye to departed Avs players Joonas Donskoi (Donny/Donkey) #72. We got this guy two seasons ago and he became part of the magic that turned our one-line-only team into a four-strong team. He was one player that I wasn’t sure about when he By Adrian Dater arrived, and he grew on me. That quiet achiever. When he and Andre Burakovsky were on the ice that usually meant more scoring chances

and of course that’s exactly what we fans love. Here is the second in what I hope will be a long, ongoing series of guest With the Kraken expansion draft, our breaths were held waiting to see columns from subscribers of Colorado Hockey Now. You’re passionate who GM Joe would protect. Once Gravy was traded it seemed inevitable about your team, and I like hearing from you, and reading your thoughts that it would be Joonas, who would be one of a couple of players likely to on the team. I call it “The Soapbox.” If you want to write what’s on your go. And it happened. We lost him to the Kraken. mind on the Avs, email me your column at [email protected]. The one great thing was seeing him be happy about the fact that Gru Keep in mind: I may have to be a meanie and not run it, if it doesn’t make was joining him over there on his new team. Have fun Joonas. We’ll miss any sense or some other reason. But I doubt that would happen too you. often. I’m a good editor too, and I like hearing from diverse voices – not just my own. I imagine you feel the same way sometimes! (don’t answer Brandon Saad (the Saadfather) #20. This was the guy that was still there, that). still there, still there and I was ever hopeful that GM Joe would pull out the checkbook for him. Sure, he’d only been with us for one season, but, Today’s guest column is by Karen Cherrett. Follow her on Twitter here. hey, he quickly became a fan favorite. You knew when Brandon was on It happens at the end of every season, but that doesn’t make it any the ice. He would get in and get things done. I’ve loved watching him play easier. We lose some of our favorite players. Whether they were an Av in an Avs jersey and I’m sad he’s no longer part of the team that is for just one season or more, the players become part of our family, the fighting for the Cup. Bye Brandon, thanks for the memories. Avalanche family, because that’s what it feels like as a fan, one big Not only have we lost some of our favorite Avs, but also a bunch of guys family. The players, the team and us fans. We embrace them as soon as that showed us how valuable they were by being there when the team they pull on that burgundy and blue sweater. They are the ones we cheer needed them this season. I’m talking about the Colorado Eagles players for every game because they are representing the team that we love. that came into the team when injuries struck, or we needed a shift of This off-season has seen some of our very favorites leave. pace.

Matt Calvert (Calvy) #11. The bulldog, the terrier, the guy who gave us Liam O’Brien (Big Tuna) He was that big strong player who threw his short-handed goals, and gave 110% every time he hit the ice. He was weight around, just when you needed it. By OB and thanks for being part of our fourth line dynamos, that line that Beds put on the ice when he there when we needed you. needed the game to change. And it did, because of the conviction and TJ Tynan (Tines) TJ didn’t play a lot of games up with the big guys this dedication of Matt Calvert. We as fans all felt dread when Matt suffered a season, but the few that he did, he played his part. concussion again earlier in the season. Collectively we held our breath hoping that it would not be a career-ending injury. He didn’t return for the Dan Renouf (Roofer?) Dan got to play a few more games than TJ, up season and then the inevitable happened; he announced his retirement. with the Avs and was a contributor. No, please no. To each and every one of these players, we fans say “Thank You.” We understand, and it hurts. We are going to miss Matt Calvert each and Thank you for being a part of our Avs family, thank you for contributing to every night. Our fourth line just won’t be the same. the team in a year that was strange because of covid, and so close to achieving the team goal of winning that Cup. We appreciate each and Pierre Edouard Bellemare (Belly) #41. Who will forget this man’s smile every one of you. and the fun he had on the ice. Our fourth-line center. He and Matty playing a big part on our team, making those plays in front of the net to Yesterday on Twitter the Carolina Hurricanes posted a graphic of Ian snatch a goal when you didn’t think anyone was going to get one past the Cole, who has now joined their team in this off-season. Why am I opposition’s goalie. The ‘Belly’ bumps at the end of the game had you mentioning this, because the graphic was of him in his Avs jersey? He laugh and know that he was still there. didn’t play for us last season, yet he is an Av and will always be an Av because of wearing it. At least that’s my take on what it means to wear Just like Matt, PE found a home with us fans in Colorado. He was with us burgundy and blue. for two seasons, it felt like more. We’ll miss you Belly. Colorado hockey now LOADED: 08.05.2021 Philipp Grubauer (Gru) #31. Ball Arena isn’t going to be the same without the “Gruuuuu” chant when this man saves the day stopping that puck from going to the back of the net. He came to us from the Capitals three seasons ago and it took a little while for us to get used to him after our Varly left. What is it with goaltenders? It feels as though they are the backbone of the team and yet we take longer than usual to accept them. Strange, that.

We’d all been sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for GM Joe to ink Gru’s extension and it didn’t happen. And all of a sudden we have no starting goalie. Well, we do know. Let’s go Kemps!. Gru will certainly be missed by the fans, and we’ll cheer for him in Seattle, coz that’s just what we do.

Ryan Graves (Gravy) #27 Right before the expansion draft he disappeared on us. Traded away to the Devils. What? Don’t think anyone saw that coming. Gravy played a strong part on our D core. Was he always perfectly on point? No. Will he be missed by us? Yes! Enjoy your new team Gravy. The Avs’ ice, without the flow, just won’t be the same.

Conor Timmins (Timbits) #22 – 31 times this past season he played on the ice. We watched him become stronger and have more confidence in himself and his play. After his serious injury it was fantastic to watch. I for one was cheering him on big time. When GM Joe gave Timmins his qualifying offer, everyone was happy. We could see him prospering even more with the team this season. Then it happened. He got traded. There 1191320 Dallas Stars

Stars center Radek Faksa becomes a father to his first child

By SportsDay Staff 7:43 PM on Aug 4, 2021 CDT

Radek Faksa has a new type of star in his life as of this summer. Faksa’s longtime partner Dominika Matusinska gave birth to their first child on July 31 the Stars center announced on Twitter.

Welcome to the world my son

We love you so much

Elliot Radek Faksa was born on 31st of July in Dallas

Thank you @DMatusinska for this cutest angel You were doing so amazing the whole time pic.twitter.com/W6qzsRaGQv

— Radek Faksa (@RadekFaksa) August 4, 2021

Faksa’s son Elliot Radek Faksa was born in Dallas, where Faksa has played his entire career. Dallas drafted the Czech with its first round pick back in 2012.

Since making his NHL debut in 2015 Faksa has played 406 games through six seasons with the Stars. In 2020 Faksa signed a contract extension to stay in Dallas for another five years worth $16.25 million.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191321 Dallas Stars with Pavelski. While Suter and Pavelski are now teammates and will have opportunities to make plays together on the ice, Suter’s primary point of concern will be his fit with the Stars’ defensemen.

Stars and Ryan Suter are betting on each other, and that a Stanley Cup In the first two minutes of his introductory news conference last week, is in their future together Suter mentioned the words “right,” “perfect” and “good” on three separate occasions when describing his fit with the team. Suter is a left shot, giving the Stars three left shots in the top four with Miro Heiskanen and By Saad Yousuf Aug 4, 2021 Esa Lindell. John Klingberg is the lone righty. While Suter said he would play wherever the team needs him, GM Jim Nill’s selling point to Suter in

free agency was that of the two alphas on the top-two pairings, Klingberg Ryan Suter remembers July 4, 2012. He was 27 years old and had spent being a righty would make Suter a natural fit, and Heiskanen’s ability to his first seven years in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. He was play on the right would also keep Suter on his strong side. coming off a season in which he finished with the most points in his Suter’s exact fit is still to be determined. While the Stars’ pursuit for a No. career to that point and finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting. Suter was 4 defenseman was framed as being a replacement for Jamie Oleksiak, in the prime of his career, having just signed a monster 13-year, $98 the Stars didn’t go after Suter with that mindset. There’s still a good million deal with the Minnesota Wild. possibility Suter will slide into the void left by Oleksiak, but a juggling of “You’re young and you think you’re going to get so many chances to win the pairing aligning Suter with Klingberg and Heiskanen with Lindell isn’t and all of that different stuff,” Suter said. “I went to Minnesota thinking, out of the question, either. In either case, Heiskanen would play on the ‘OK, let’s go here. We can build a team that we can go and compete to right side, which is not something he nor the Stars view as a hindrance. win.’ Obviously, that didn’t happen.” The Stars believe the collective hockey IQ between the four defensemen will allow them to thrive and be one of the better top-four units in the It’s not as though the Wild didn’t win over Suter’s tenure. Minnesota NHL. made the playoffs in eight of the nine years Suter was there. By contrast, the Stars qualified for the playoffs just four times over the same span. “Ryan Suter’s been one of the top defensemen in the NHL for many Playoff success, of course, has been a different story. The Stars have years,” Nill said. “He’s a great veteran, got a great presence. He’s a made it out of the first round three times in the past nine years, losing a heavy minute-cruncher. He’s one of those guys, he reminds me a lot of couple of Game 7s in the second round and making one run to the Chris Chelios when I was in Detroit. He doesn’t seem to age. … He’s a Stanley Cup Final. The Wild only made it to the second round twice, heavy body, got iron lungs and he’s a great skater. losing in six games once and getting swept another time. “If you’re going to have success in this league, you’ve got to have a good Suter’s outlook on winning is important to understand, both in explaining top four. We really feel that this top four is as good as anybody in the why he chose to sign in Dallas when he had other options with league. That’s what excites us.” contending teams and also in driving home the high expectations for the There is a chance the Stars will have this top four intact for the Stars this season. Suter didn’t say it directly but his words sent a clear foreseeable future. Heiskanen, Lindell and Suter are all tied to Dallas message: Making the playoffs doesn’t qualify as winning. through at least 2025. Nill has said the Stars are in active negotiations “I felt there was so much pressure on this (free agency) decision for me, with Klingberg for an extension before his contract expires in 2022. While personally, because I wanted to make sure that I picked the right Suter’s words and the Stars’ payroll situation emphasize the importance situation to give me the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup,” Suter of the present, Suter’s four-year commitment to the Stars also indicates said. “I’ve been very fortunate with the contracts I’ve signed, different how he feels about the Stars’ chances to compete for a championship in places I’ve been and different experiences. To win the Stanley Cup the short term. Suter believes he’ll still be a factor even as his contract would mean the world to me. That’s what I’m going to Dallas to do.” ages.

Leaving Minnesota wasn’t Suter’s decision. He said he had no inkling “I think I can play until I’m 45 (years old) if I want,” Suter said. “I just think that the organization would part ways with him by buying out his contract the way I play — that’s what I was telling (Suter’s agent) Neil (Sheehy). I before he received a call on the morning of July 13. Suter said he was said, ‘Neil, if my birth certificate said I was 27, the way I play, my play speechless, “feeling pretty low,” which was remedied on the hockey side hasn’t gone down over the last 10 years.’ I think it’s actually gotten better. of things a bit later in the day when the phone started ringing from teams I feel stronger, more experienced.” around the league. Still, it has been a tough pill to swallow. In an era when athletes across the sports world are taking Father Time “The hardest part was my family,” Suter said. “For me, I can deal with it. deeper than the past, the Stars are banking on Suter to do the same. In It’s the family that I was sad for. They’re leaving all of their friends, just exchange, Suter is banking on the Stars to help facilitate the gaping void made so many great relationships in Minnesota. That was the hardest in his NHL career: a Stanley Cup championship. part for me. … My three youngest kids were born in Minnesota. My wife’s The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 from Minnesota. I was close to Wisconsin. It was everything that we wanted, that’s why we signed there as a free agent.

“It was a great time. Everything happens for a reason. We’re really excited about this opportunity because guys when they turn 36 really don’t get this opportunity. We have it and we’re going to make the most of it, for sure.”

Suter’s vetting process of the Stars was thorough. Being in the same division for almost a decade, he had some familiarity as an outsider. He also spoke to players who had previously played in the Stars organization to get an understanding of what the inner workings were like, and all of the reviews came back positive. But there was one person who was especially critical to Suter’s decision-making process: His good friend and fellow Wisconsin native, and now new teammate, Joe Pavelski.

“I know Joe really well. … I definitely talked to him and he had nothing but great things to say,” Suter said. “When a guy like him is telling you that all of the guys on the team are talking to him saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get him to sign here,’ that makes you feel great. It makes you feel welcomed. Joe just said that the group of guys that are there are awesome, great guys and want to win. It was a big part of the decision.”

Suter and Pavelski grew up playing against each other and their children play together as well, so Suter said he’s excited to chase a Stanley Cup 1191322 Edmonton Oilers Oscar Klefbom (inj)

Filip Berglund

Lowetide: 8 unsigned free agents who could help the Oilers Ilya Konovalov

Ostap Safin

By Allan Mitchell Aug 4, 2021 Dylan Holloway

Raphael Lavoie

The Edmonton Oilers arrived at the end of the first week of free agency Dmitri Samorukov with four UFAs (Zach Hyman, Derek Ryan, Cody Ceci, re-signed Tyson Barrie) signed and one trade (Ethan Bear for Warren Foegele) in the Mike Kesselring books. Olivier Rodrigue

From afar, the forward group looks much improved, the defence will miss Kirill Maksimov Bear’s utility and the goaltending remains the same. The current goaltending tandem (Mike Smith, Mikko Koskinen) has been good Tim Soderlund enough to get Edmonton to the postseason two years in a row, but not Seth Griffith good enough to backstop a series win in the playoffs. Markus Niemelainen The Oilers are also well shy of the 50-man contract limit allotted to all 32 NHL clubs. That should mean plenty of activity in the coming days, with Phil Kemp value ($1 million or less) deals most likely. Edmonton is close to the cap with RFAs Kailer Yamamoto, Cooper Marody, Stuart Skinner and Tyler There are several impressive talents bubbling under at every position. Benson to sign, so value deals will be the order of the day. Some players, like Tomas Tatar, will cost more than $1 million for the coming season, but most will come in around that range and all represent Is this a good year to look for this kind of contract? Are there any free bargain additions to Edmonton’s 50-man roster. agents still available and who could address a team need? Let’s have a look. LD Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals

Current 50-man list (41) He’s 44 and has won everything available to a hockey player at the highest levels of the sport. His defensive performances, always his LEFT WING CENTRE RIGHT WING LEFT strength, have faded to the point where he is no longer able to deliver at DEFENCE RIGHT DEFENCE GOALTENDER elite levels. Why pursue him? Chara can still play (in fewer minutes), his wingspan is still a strength and his penalty-killing prowess (No. 18 among Zach Hyman regular defencemen in shots-against per 60) remains a positive part of Connor McDavid his game. His training regimen and dedication to winning is exactly what the organization aspires to, and the Oilers have a pile of young Jesse Puljujarvi defencemen (Evan Bouchard, Dmitri Samorukov, Philip Broberg) who Darnell Nurse can learn from the master. This won’t be a popular idea, and he’s unlikely to take on the challenge, but having Chara as an active player-living Tyson Barrie legend-mentor would be an inspired transaction for GM Ken Holland.

Mike Smith RD Billy Constantino, Soo Greyhounds

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins A wonderful skater who was robbed of his final showcase for the NHL Draft in 2020-21 (the OHL didn’t play a game), Constantino is a puck- Leon Draisaitl moving defender who Edmonton could sign to an entry-level deal with the Kailer Yamamoto free space on the 50-man list. A great passer, he’s 6-foot, 185 pounds, so slightly undersized and he is one dimensional. The speed is Duncan Keith compelling and the Oilers have signed burners on defence in the past who have graduated to the NHL (Jordan Oesterle) after a long period in Cody Ceci the minors. Mikko Koskinen LW Ryan Donato, San Jose Sharks Warren Foegele Donato has offensive talent (6-14-20 in 50 games for the Sharks last Derek Ryan season) and has played centre but is mostly on the wing at this point in his career. Edmonton’s depth chart at left wing looks set in the top three Josh Archibald spots, and Devin Shore probably gets the fourth spot often due to penalty killing prowess. Donato doesn’t kill penalties but if Holland is looking for Kris Russell some extra offence on the depth lines, Donato is an excellent bet. Evan Bouchard LD Slater Koekkoek, Edmonton Oilers Alex Stalock He didn’t have a good start to the season with the Oilers, then got hurt. Devin Shore Koekkoek’s track record includes a rock solid season for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019-20 where Puck IQ had him about 50 percent in Ryan McLeod possession (Dangerous Fenwick) and his team outscored opponents 27- 23 at five-on-five. He’s 27, can skate very well and moves the puck with Zack Kassian authority. He’s also 6-foot-2, 193 pounds. There is some chaos in William Lagesson coverage but at a low cap hit Koekkoek would be a worthy target (again) for Edmonton. Philip Broberg C Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers Stuart Skinner Injuries derailed Laberge’s career early and often, with the young centre Tyler Benson playing in just 54 AHL games (zero in the NHL) since turning pro in the Kyle Turris fall of 2018. He was the No. 36 selection in the 2016 draft. That’s a high pick to walk this soon after he was selected. He scored 15 goals in those Cooper Marody 54 AHL games, 14 of those at even strength. Chances are his NHL chances disappeared due to the injuries. However, he’s a right-handed centre who scored goals at a high rate in a very good league. Perhaps there’s a player there.

LW Evgeny Svechnikov, Detroit Red Wings

A top-10 pick in the historically deep 2015 draft, Svechnikov had all the tools teams look for in an impact winger. Red Line Report called him a “big horse, like a freight train, skill winger with soft hands.” Svechnikov had a strong draft-plus-one season in the QMJHL and a solid if unspectacular showing as an AHL rookie (20-31-51 in 74 games).

Injuries impacted him in 2017-18 (neck) and he missed all of the 2018-19 season after knee surgery. He has posted pedestrian numbers since, but his five-on-five points per 60 in the NHL during the 2020-21 season (1.69) showed real promise. He doesn’t shoot enough and he is still a young prospect (plus he’s missed playing time), but Svechnikov is a serious talent who could be a bargain for any team willing to take a chance on him. He is not a burner but is more of a finisher than Tyler Benson, with both Holland and scouting director Tyler Wright directly involved in his selection for the Red Wings in 2015.

LW Tomas Tatar, Montreal Canadiens

There’s some mystery surrounding Tatar and his inactivity during Montreal’s deep playoff run. What we know is that his five-on-five scoring (2.03 points per 60) rates last season were terrific and that he’s still available in free agency. Edmonton doesn’t have room for him on a skill line unless Hyman is moved to right wing and Tatar lines up on Connor McDavid’s left side, although Jesse Puljujarvi turns over so many pucks on McDavid’s line coach Dave Tippett may prefer to leave him there. There may be a reason for passing on Tatar, it could be injury, speed or indifference toward the player. NHL free agency rarely sees a player who delivered this kind of offence in the previous season hang around this long, though. Chances are he’ll look like an enormous bargain by Christmas.

C Travis Zajac, New York Islanders

In early July, I looked at the ideal No. 3 centre for the Oilers in free agency, settling on Derek Ryan (who signed with Edmonton) after concluding Ryan Getzlaf (who signed with the Anaheim Ducks) and Zajac (unsigned) would cost too much. It’s still likely a distant bell, but Zajac remaining a free agent may mean he’s casting about looking for a value contract. Chances are Lou Lamoriello signs Zajac to a low-cost deal for one season, but the veteran right-handed centre has a lot to offer any team.

Reserve list

Across the NHL, there are about one dozen players whose playing rights will expire on Aug. 15. Edmonton has one (Aapeli Rasanen) who may be worth signing, Rasanen is a two-way centre who put in a solid year in the Liiga in 2020-21.

Finding the gem

The king of finding useful players for free was Glen Sather, whose crowning achievement in this area was Craig MacTavish. He also chased Randy Gregg from the University of Alberta to Japan in pursuit of a pro contract and found Rem Murray at Michigan State.

The Oilers have an unusual situation, with miles of space on the 50-man list and some interesting players to contemplate signing. The club has a large group of AHL contracts, specifically forwards, so it doesn’t need to sign the full roster this time.

Edmonton’s NHL roster looks fairly set, but there’s room to add insurance at left defence and centre while also making some homerun bets on players like Constantino, Svechnikov and Laberge.

In hockey procurement, teams that can find gems in unusual places are more likely to enjoy success. The Oilers have room, courtesy of not signing men like Matej Blumel before free agency and sending away several young defencemen this summer. Value contracts in free agency are inexpensive and can provide a team with exceptional value.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191323 Florida Panthers

Panthers re-sign goaltender Sam Montembeault

By MALLORY SCHNELL

Florida Panthers goaltender Sam Montembeault was re-signed to a one- year, two-way contract earlier in the week.

Montembeault, 24, has appeared in 25 games with the Panthers, posting a 9-8-3 record, .892 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average.

When he isn’t called up by the Panthers, Montembeault spends his time playing for the AHL affiliate. Montembeault has played in 104 career AHL games with Syracuse (2020-21) and the Springfield Thunderbirds (2017- 18 to 2019-20), with a 39-48-18 record, a .900 save percentage, 3.17 goals against average and five shutouts.

With the Panthers having goaltenders Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky, Montembeault is looking to be in the AHL again for the upcoming season.

Montembeault is not the only option for the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate for the Panthers and Seattle Kraken for the 2021-22 season.

The Panthers signed goaltender Christopher Gibson to a one-year, two- way contract last week.

Gibson, 28, recorded a 1-1-0 record and a .875 save percentage in two games for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020-21 season. He also played in two AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch, posting a 2-0-0 record, .925 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average.

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191324 Los Angeles Kings Rasmus Kupari, are likely going to have to switch to the wing because of the surplus.

Left wing A look at how the Kings’ depth chart could look in 3 years, after more prospects arrive PLAYER

Alex Turcotte

By Lisa Dillman Aug 4, 2021 Adrian Kempe

Alex Iafallo

It is impossible to completely and accurately project the Kings’ depth Trevor Moore chart three years from now when, theoretically, they should have turned the corner on their lengthy and ambitious rebuild and become ready to Alex Turcotte was the No. 5 pick in 2019, and given how deep the King move into the ranks of Stanley Cup contenders. are up the middle and thin they are on the left side, it seems almost like a no-brainer that’s what his long-term landing spot is going to be. Kempe, The reason: Even a team as traditionally conservative as the Kings is who seemingly has been around forever, will only be 27 by then. Alex bound to make roster moves — either via trade or free agency — that will Iafallo, meanwhile, will be 30, with a year to go on the four-year contract greatly transform the depth chart. If, for example, they were to ever he signed this year, and likely will be playing a supporting role, if the venture into serious bidding for disgruntled Buffalo Sabres star center Kings are truly a team on the rise. The fourth line spot could go to Trevor Jack Eichel, it would completely shift their asset mix. Moore and/or Jaret Anderson-Dolan, both of whom will need to demonstrate some versatility in order to be productive players in the Things can change swiftly. In the span of a month, for example, the Kings lower end of the lineup. added Viktor Arvidsson in a trade with the Nashville Predators, and Phillip Danault and Alex Edler as free agents, from the Montreal Right wing Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks, respectively. PLAYER On the other hand, the Kings have one of the deepest prospect pipelines in the NHL and have committed to letting their prospects develop, in Arthur Kaliyev junior and minor pro or in Europe, at a measured pace. No one is being Gabriel Vilardi rushed unnecessarily to the NHL just to fill a roster spot. The Kings want them to be ready — and then some — by the time they start contributing Samuel Fagemo as regulars. Rasmus Kupari In three years, chances are the Kings will have said goodbye to two Let’s take a leap of faith here and predict that Arthur Kaliyev’s goal- franchise cornerstones — former captain Dustin Brown, who will be 39 by scoring ability, which he’s shown at every level thus far, eventually then and most likely retired, and goaltender Jonathan Quick, whose translates to the NHL. It would solve a lot of problems if he became a workload should be reduced this season as Cal Petersen inches closer second-round pick who really hit, because the Kings will ultimately need and closer to that No. 1 goalie position. It will also be a pivotal juncture in a reliable 30-goal producer on this side of the top line, and among the the career of captain Anze Kopitar, because the eight-year, $80 million players in the pipeline, Kaliyev has the skill set best suited to that. contract he signed in January 2016 expires at the end of the 2023-24 Whether everything else clicks in place — speed and the ability to play season. Kopitar will be 37 by then and very likely will still be able to both ends of the rink — remains to be seen. contribute to the Kings. The question is, will he be energized to carry on if the players coming through the ranks are developing well? Or will he be The Kings’ greatest transition will likely come on the right side, where the discouraged and ready to move on to the next stage of his life and three players who project to be 1-2-3 this October will likely have all career? moved on. As noted, Brown should be winding down his career in the next 36 months and Andreas Athanasiou, who signed another one-year Let’s examine the options by position. contract with the Kings last month, looks as if he’ll be an organizational Center placeholder. The biggest question will revolve around Arvidsson, who has three years remaining on the contract he signed with Nashville for PLAYER $4.25 million annually, and thus will be UFA that season. So much Quinton Byfield depends upon what Arvidsson does for the Kings. He is a proven NHL scorer who can help with the heavy lifting on the penalty kill as well, but Anze Kopitar he has had a difficult time staying healthy and can be prone to puzzling, lengthy goal-scoring droughts. The best-case scenario is that Arvidsson Phillip Danault has a career resurgence with the Kings and that they’ll be motivated to Akil Thomas sign him to an extension when his current contract expires. If Arvidsson is still in the mix, he probably projects as the No. 2 or No. 3 winger. So much of this will mostly depend upon two factors. How long will it take for Quinton Byfield to reach his full potential? And then, what will Kopitar Vilardi’s scoring touch and his size make him an attractive option to play want to do after his contract expires — keep playing or retire? And, if it’s in the top six, but his speed could hamper his rise up the depth chart. the former, would he want to stay in Los Angeles or try his luck Samuel Fagemo spent the past season with Ontario in the AHL and elsewhere? Even though a lot of Kopitar’s Stanley Cup-winning adapted reasonably well to his first year in North America, though the fact teammates have moved on, it just feels as if he’ll retire as a King. So let’s that the Kings didn’t deem him ready to play in the NHL suggests he also keep him in the mix, with the caveat that Akil Thomas will be 24 by then didn’t make a meaningful stride forward. Injuries set him back last year, and a useful multi-dimensional player who’ll have a chance to push for a but he’s a smart player with a good engine who plays with energy and roster spot if the decision goes the other way and Kopitar packs it in. shoots the puck well. This will be a pivotal camp for him. He and Kupari are at roughly the same point on the developmental depth chart. Kupari The Kings have many natural centers in the pipeline, but Byfield has the may have a higher ceiling, and his recovery from major ACL surgery has highest ceiling, and though they are being cautious by not pushing him limited his development time and also the Kings’ opportunity to assess too soon, in three years, he’ll have grown into his 6-foot-5 frame and, just what his upside might be. as importantly, adjusted to the speed and pace of the NHL. Provided Byfield doesn’t have any developmental U-turns, he projects to be at the Left defense top of the depth chart, with Kopitar sliding down into the No. 2 slot, PLAYER playing fewer minutes than when he was in his prime. The Kings made a six-year commitment to Danault in free agency. He will be halfway Mikey Anderson through the contract by the start of that season and the expectation is that he will still be an anchor in the No. 3 slot, as a faceoff man, leader Tobias Bjornfot and defensive conscience. Two other natural centers, Gabriel Vilardi and Kim Nousiainen Kale Clague remains in the mix on the left side as well. Clague got into The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 18 NHL games this past season, and will likely get a chance to make the team out of training camp as a depth option (though Edler’s acquisition bumps him down the depth chart to start). Seattle had a chance to select Clague in the expansion draft and passed on him. Edler is 35, and thus, just a short-term placeholder for the youngsters coming through the pipeline. Anderson showed great poise as a first-year NHLer, and played lots with Drew Doughty and didn’t look out of place.

The Kings also have another promising left-side defenseman coming through the ranks, Kim Nousiainen, a fourth-round pick in 2019 (No. 119). Tobias Bjornfot made his NHL debut as a teenager and though he probably will never be a high-octane offensive contributor, his all-around game suggests he can be a top-four option for up to a decade or more. The other wild card is Christian Wolanin, who came over from the Ottawa Senators in a trade last season and has been dealing with the effects of a shoulder injury and surgery earlier in his career, but will get a chance to win a spot this year. At 26, he projects as a depth piece, if some of the younger prospects stall.

Right defense

PLAYER

Drew Doughty

Matt Roy

Brandt Clarke

The right side is led by a familiar name who made his NHL debut in 2008, which seems like another lifetime in hockey terms. Doughty will be 34 in three seasons but will still have three years to go on his contract, paying him $11 million a year. Both Matt Roy and Sean Walker will be 29 by then, still well within their primes. By then, Brandt Clarke, chosen No. 8 in this year’s draft, will be inching up the development ladder, ready to push for regular duty.

And don’t forget Brock Faber, Helge Grans and Jordan Spence. Faber played this past season at the University of Minnesota. The Kings moved up to get him in the 2020 draft. Chosen 45th, he will be pushing for full- time NHL employment by this point. Faber made a smooth transition to college hockey as a freshman. He’s a defensively aware right shot, listed at 6-foot-1, 194 pounds, who could evolve into the sort of quietly efficient minute-muncher every team needs. Grans, an early second-round pick in 2020, has the offensive chops that his countryman Bjornfot may lack. He has good size, good strength and moves well for a big man. Spence, meanwhile, is a smart player with the puck on his stick and makes quick, clean decisions coming out of his own zone. His overall hockey IQ might be his best strength.

Goalie

PLAYER

Cal Petersen

Matt Villalta

The Kings traded Jack Campbell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 2020, in part because they thought Petersen projected as their best option to replace Quick as their next-generation starter. The greater question is, do the Kings have a No. 2 in the system in either Lukas Parik, Matt Villalta, Jacob Ingham or Juho Marrkanen, or will they need to add to their depth either via trade or free agency?

Parik played in the USHL this past year and had the distinction of scoring a goal in the 2019-20 season with Spokane after his draft year. Last season, he played with Dubuque. If the Kings could have found a way of trading back into the second half of the first round, they might have opted for one of the two goalies who went early in this summer’s draft, but it didn’t happen. But goaltenders are always on the move, so let’s not spend a lot of time worrying about this. Villalta played in Ontario this past year and had an up-and-down time of it. Quick has two years to go on his contract. Greater clarity will have come by then.

Conclusion

With all the prospects the Kings have been folding into the system, there simply isn’t going to be room on the 23-player roster for them all. So we’re anticipating that three years from now, Quick, Brown, Athanasiou, Brendan Lemieux, Austin Wagner, Carl Grundstrom, Blake Lizotte, Olli Maatta and a few others will have moved on. 1191325 Los Angeles Kings Samuel Helenius

Helenius finished the showcase with one goal from his team’s six games, though that goal was as important as a goal can be in a summer Kings prospects complete summer showcase events, in advance of showcase, a game-tying tally in the third period, with Finland eventually World Juniors downing USA Blue in a shootout. On the play, Helenius picked off an errant pass through the middle and buried from close range for the goal.

By Zach Dooley Helenius’ play was also praised by his head coach at the tournament –

“I think Helenius is a big center and I like him a lot,” Finland Coach Antti Pennanen said. “He’s so good, he’s coachable and his attitude is good. We’re still about five months away from the latest edition of the World He’s humble and he’s tough. I think someday, if everything goes well, Junior Championships, but the participating nations, and their prospects, he’s going to be an NHL player because of his attitude, size and his are already gearing up. mental makeup.”

Prospects from eight different countries held summer showcase events Samuel Helenius makes it 6-6 and chirps the USA bench on his way by over the last week or so, with the Kings represented on five nations – #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/ZhxArgVndz Canada, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States. — Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) July 27, 2021 Hockey Canada Summer Showcase – Tsuut’ina Nation, Alberta With both Helenius and Simontaival making last season’s squad for the Hockey Canada splits its prospective players into two squads, red and World Juniors, the expectation would be seeing both players again this white, and holds a showcase event that allows each player to skate in winter, though that obviously remains to be seen as the process plays three games during the summer. Brandt Clarke represented Team White out. Still, a pair of forwards considered likely for the final roster. in the U-20 showcase, and Team Dyck in the U-20 / U-18 crossover games. Quinton Byfield was invited but did not attend. Sweden

Brandt Clarke Helge Grans

If we had begun to prepare for this article before the draft, we wouldn’t Defenseman Helge Grans was the last defenseman cut from Team have seen a Kings prospect on Team Canada’s summer roster, but in the Sweden at the 2021 World Juniors, a team that bowed out in the dynamic Clarke, the organization’s newest first-round selection finds quarterfinals. This summer, he was back in the fold with the Swedes, himself in the mix for a spot on this season’s U-20 squad, coming off of a skating in all six of his team’s games at the showcase in Michigan. gold medal with the U-18 team a few months prior. Grans found the back of the net once across six games, a tally for his In the two Red / White games, Clarke skated on the blueline for Team team in a 5-2 defeat against USA Blue. Grans’ tally came with Sweden White and tallied a goal in the first of the two contests. Starting with the on a 5-on-3 power play and was a well-taken one-timer from the top of puck at the blueline, Clarke displayed some of that elusiveness that had the left-hand circle. A good sign from the right-handed blueliner, who has been touted of him, maneuvering himself around a couple of bodies at “first power-play potential” in the eyes of Mark Yannetti. the offensive blueline, dishing the puck out of traffic, driving the net and Helge Grans reducerar, assisterad av Oskar Olausson och Zion Nybeck. finishing from in tight. Goal is embedded for your viewing pleasure below. #WJSS #HV71 #GoKingsGo #GoAvsGo #Canes In Game 3, Clarke tallied three assists for Team Dyck, as the U20 and pic.twitter.com/uPe5Sp4IJr U18 prospects integrated for the final games, bringing his total for the — SwehockeyGIFs (@swehockeygifs) July 28, 2021 showcase to four points (1-3-4) from three games played. Armed with a full season of professional experience under his belt, and Kings' 8th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft Brandt Clarke with a nice likely in the midst of another by the time the tournament begins in goal during the Red-White game for Team Canada. December, LA’s second-round selection in 2020 figures to have another Love his ability to read the play and be aggressive enough to hold the crack at Sweden’s roster after a near miss in 2021. Grans signed his puck in the offensive zone.#GoKingsGo @HockeyCanada  entry-level contract with the Kings over the summer, and is a player to watch in the pipeline this coming season. pic.twitter.com/ijXAVCDgme United States — Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) August 1, 2021 Brock Faber A gold medalist at the U-18 level, Clarke seems to be in a good position to make the final roster in the winter, depending on his start to the One of Team USA’s standouts en route to a gold medal one season ago, season and who is eventually available for the tournament. You’d expect Faber skated for both USA White and USA Blue, appearing in four him to be right towards the top of that mix, though. games in total throughout the showcase. Teams Faber skated for went 3- 0-1, while the Kings defensive prospect posted a +1 rating, though no World Junior Summer Showcase – Plymouth, MI points. Finland Looking ahead to this winter, Faber appears to be close to a lock to The Kings had a pair of forward prospects – Samuel Helenius and return to the midseason showcase. Faber earned himself an evolving Kasper Simontaival – representing the Finns last week in Plymouth. Both and increasing role with the team last season as the tournament Helenius and Simontaival were a part of the roster at the most recent progressed, and was a standout performer in an underaged season. World Juniors, with both producing fairly solidly en route to a bronze Now, he’ll likely be looked upon as one of the more veteran players on a medal. team in search of a repeat.

Kasper Simontaival *All Statistics Provided By USA Hockey

Simontaival appeared in all six of Finland’s games across the eight days, U20 Summer Challenge – Fussen, Germany recording a goal and an assist for two total points. Simontaival’s assist Slovakia was a pretty one, a patient setup while on the man advantage, while his goal was a tidy finish off of a 2-on-1 rush in a 4-2 win over USA Blue. Via Martin Chromiak the expansive highlights we’ve seen on Twitter, Simontaival had a few additional opportunities for assists, but came away with just the two Slovakia was the “champion” of the summer event, with victories over the points he did. Czech Republic, Denmark and Germany. The Slovaks conceded just one goal throughout the tournament, with 14 scored, including a dynamic Roni Hirvonen (TOR) makes it 2-0 for Finland after receiving a great feed performance from the lone Kings prospect in the showcase. from Kasper Simontaival (LAK). #Leafs #LeafsForever #LAKings pic.twitter.com/XUAAY81Lz1 Chromiak was the leading scorer for Team Slovakia, as he tallied nine points (6-3-9) from three games played. Chromiak scored, or assisted on, — Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) July 30, 2021 64 percent of his team’s 14 goals during the short tournament, including four goals and three assists during an 8-1 rout of Denmark. In that game, Chromiak finished two breakaways, as well as an impressive, dancing, coast-to-coast goal, showcasing his offensive abilities and instincts.

An unreal performance by #GoKingsGo prospect  Martin Chromiak, who scored SEVEN points tonight. Chromiak had four goals and three assists in Team Slovakia U20’s 8-1 win over Team Denmark U20. All points are in the video.

: aisw pic.twitter.com/wwWo46Y4Yz

— Matej Deraj (@MatoDeraj) July 30, 2021

As a leading player during Slovakia’s 2020 run to the quarterfinals, Chromiak will be expected to carry a similar load in 2021. Chromiak is slated to return to the OHL, with the Kingston Frontenacs, for his final season of junior hockey. He made his AHL debut with the Ontario Reign late in the 2021 campaign.

In addition to those mentioned above, Russian defenseman Kirill Kirsanov and the Finnish duo of Aatu Jamsen and Juho Markkanen have also skated in affiliated camps, or played in the tournament, while Alex Laferriere (USA) and Francesco Pinelli (CAN) are also eligible. The tournament is scheduled to begin on December 26 in Edmonton/Red Deer Alberta.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.05.2021

1191326 Minnesota Wild playing with as long as you're playing with a Minnesota Wild player, then you should be excited about that. Our guys committed to that last year, and we don't expect them to not commit to it this year."

Moving on from Parise, Suter: Wild coach Dean Evason thinks Wild will Players on the Wild keep coming and going, and the team didn't make 'seamless' transition nosedive after last season's upheaval.

Now it's time for an encore, and Evason pegged leadership as what can elicit the same response. By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune AUGUST 4, 2021 — 6:55AM "That's why we're very confident in our ability as an organization and as a team and in that dressing room that they will not be flustered by any moves that were made," he said. Half of the Wild's defense is new, and the forward lines are unclear. Star Tribune LOADED: 08.05.2021 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 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.

"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 1191327 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens assistant coach Alex Burrows gets three-year deal

Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette

Canadiens assistant coach Alex Burrows has received a three-year contract, which runs through the 2023-24 season.

Burrows, 40, joined the Canadiens coaching staff on Feb. 24 when Dominique Ducharme was appointed as the team’s interim head coach to replace Claude Julien. He took over Kirk Muller’s duties in directing the forwards and the power play.

The press release announcing the contract said Burrows was instrumental in helping the team qualify for the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993, but a closer look at the statistics indicates that he produced mixed results.

Under his watch, there was a slight improvement in the power play, which clocked in at 19.8 per cent to finish the regular season at 19.2. The offence tallied 97 goals in 38 regular season games for an average of 2.55 goals a game. Prior to Burrows’s arrival, the Canadiens were scoring 3.39 goals a game. In the playoffs, when defences are stingier, the power play had an 18.9 per cent success rate and the offence generated 51 goals in 22 games for a 2.32 average.

Prior to joining the Canadiens coaching staff, Burrows held a similar role with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League. In his first season behind the bench for a professional team in 2018-19, the Rocket’s power play ranked 18th in the AHL with an efficiency of 17 per cent. That number climbed to 19 in 2019-20, good for eighth in the AHL.

Burrows played 13 years in the NHL. In 913 regular season games with Vancouver and Ottawa, he amassed 409 points (205 goals, 204 assists) and served 1,134 penalty minutes. He had four consecutive seasons of 25-plus goals.

The Pincourt native added 19 goals and 20 assists in 85 Stanley Cup playoff contests. He recorded 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 25 playoff games to help the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup final in 2010- 11.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191328 New York Islanders NYI Hockey Now LOADED:

Should Oliver Wahlstrom Get a Shot on the Islanders Top Line?Published 13 hours ago on August 4, 2021By National Hockey Now

By Christian Arnold and Stefen Rosner

The New York Islanders have yet to announce any deals officially, but unofficially their roster is taking shape. Zach Parise, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac are all rumored to have new deals in the works, but the Islanders still need to fill the gap left by Jordan Eberle on the top line.

If Palmieri is indeed brought back then the logical choice would be for him to assume the top-line winger slot, barring any trades or other additions. However, could the opening be the perfect chance to give Oliver Wahlstrom a shot on the wing with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee?

Wahlstrom certainly turned heads this past season with his play on the ice. The rookie forward had 12 goals and 21 points in 44 games with the Islanders during the regular season and he had another goal and three points in the postseason before an injury cut that short.

The 21-year-old has shown he can play at the NHL level and his sniping ability could prove useful alongside Barzal and Lee. NYI Hockey Now Editor-in-Chief Christian Arnold and Stefen Rosner debated the idea, with Rosner taking the pro side and Arnold taking the dissenting opinion:

Rosner: Over the last two seasons, Oliver Wahlstrom has shown a goal- scoring potential that the island has not seen in quite some time. All the talk the last handful of years, through the John Tavares era and the current Mat Barzal era has been about bringing in wingers that can finish off chances in which they create. Wahlstrom, alongside Barzal, could be a tandem that gets the Islanders over the hump.

With Anders Lee back and healthy, this is the time to see how the 21- year old can fit into the top line. The game plan should be simple. Barzal will use his skating ability and vision to get the puck to Wahlstrom. Once the puck is on his stick, there is a likely chance a shot is coming. With Wahlstrom’s accuracy and strength, rebounds are sure to be created. And then Lee will be the big-body presence that buries that loose puck.

Obviously what works on paper is not guaranteed to work on the ice. Wahlstrom’s shooting percentage was 12.8%, and he averaged 2.14 shots per game. These statistics all came while playing on the third line, alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau. now is the time to try Wahlstrom out on that top line. It could end up not just helping the Islanders offense immensely, but may also save the Islanders from needing to give up assets to acquire a top-six forward.

Arnold: Oliver Wahlstrom had a phenomenal year for the Islanders without a doubt, but putting the 21-year-old in such a critical position before he is ready would be a mistake. Right now he is coming off an injury and Barry Trotz opted to keep his lineup intact during the playoffs rather than put Wahlstrom back in after he was healthy enough to play in the Second Round and Stanley Cup Semifinals. That’s not to say the young forward doesn’t deserve a shot in the future, but right now the Islanders and Wahlstrom would be better off letting him develop with Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Kyle Palmieri proved he could play well when given the chance to play on the Isles’ top line in the few instances he was given by Trotz last season. That should be utilized again by the Islanders, who saw Palmieri turn into an offensive juggernaut during the playoffs. The veteran winger scored seven goals and had nine points in 19 postseason contests and given the opportunity on the top line that production could be seen again during the regular season this year.

Wahlstrom’s development would benefit too from continuing to grow as a player under the tutelage of Pageau. The two developed a nice rapport last season and that would only continue to grow this year. Not to mention the fact that Zach Parise would likely find himself on that line as well should his signing ever be announced. Between Pageau and Parise, that is experience that will only aid Wahlstrom from when he is ready to move up in the lineup.

Then again, this could all be for nothing if the Islanders make a trade for say a Vladimir Tarasenko. 1191329 Ottawa Senators

ARBITRATION AVOIDED: Ottawa Senators sign Mete to one-year, $1.2M deal

Bruce Garrioch

The Ottawa Senators won’t be going to arbitration with Victor Mete.

While he filed for the process at Sunday’s deadline when the two sides weren’t able to reach an a agreement, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion signed the restricted free agent defenceman to a one-year, $1.2- million deal Wednesday.

Mete was picked up on waivers from the Montreal Canadiens and was able to help the team down the stretch. Neither side wanted to go through the process.

“Victor was a really solid addition to our defence corps over the last month of the season,” said Dorion. “He’s mobile, poised and defensively aware. We’re looking forward to seeing his progression in our lineup in 2021-22.”

The Senators picked up Mete after dealing Mike Reilly to the Boston Bruins at the deadline. He fit in well with the team and he’s still a young player. This deal will help the club determine what’s next.

This is just another step in the right direction for Dorion and the Senators. One less deal on his plate to have to get done and there’s more work ahead before the season gets underway in October.

The club still has to sign wingers Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson, along with goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Talks with the trio continue, but they didn’t have the right to file for arbitration.

There’s no shortage of eyes on Tkachuk’s deal, but those talks are complicated with several different options on the table.

The signing of coach D.J. Smith to an extension last week was a signal to all the players by owner Eugene Melnyk and Dorion they feel this club is headed in the right direction.

Mete suited up for the final 26 games and was solid. The Senators had the first rights to him on waivers and it should be noted they weren’t the only team to make a claim.

The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191330 Ottawa Senators pro tryout because he had a past history with coach John Tortorella, earned a contract and had a solid year.

That’s why free agency was a breath of fresh air this summer. After speaking with Senators, Michael Del Zotto felt Ottawa was the right “This year was a lot less stressful than last year,” Del Zotto said. “Last fit year, I didn’t have anything and I was coming off a good season in Anaheim. I was on a rebuilding team, and no matter how well I played, we were swapping guys in and out, but I had a great season there. Bruce Garrioch Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything and it’s tough because it’s hard not to doubt yourself.

“I knew I had a good hockey left in me and I was really grateful for the Michael Del Zotto had no shortage options on the NHL’s free agent opportunity in Columbus and to be reunited with Torts. He really made market. me into the all-around defenceman and I have him to thank for a lot of In the end, he opted to sign with the Ottawa Senators. that. He turned me into a man. I came into New York as a 19-year-old and he helped shape me. I can’t say enough good things about him. Not long after the market opened last Wednesday at noon, the 31-year- old defenceman got on the phone with Senators general manager Pierre “I’m proud of myself. Last year, going in on a PTO and not knowing what Dorion, head coach D.J. Smith and VP of player development Pierre was next. I always tell myself that if I can look myself in the mirror and McGuire to listen to what kind of role Del Zotto could play here as Ottawa know I gave everything I had, I can live with myself.” tries to make the next step to contend for a playoff spot. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.05.2021 As many as five teams made a serious pitch to Del Zotto’s Toronto- based agent Pat Morris of Newport Sports, but both liked what they heard from the Senators on how he could help the team. As a result, Del Zotto signed a two-year deal worth $2 million per season, and he’ll have the chance to play in the club’s top four this season.

“I had four or five other offers. I did my homework before I got into free agency, and things definitely changed with the expansion draft, because there were a lot of moving parts,” Del Zotto told this newspaper from his Toronto home Wednesday. “I still knew which teams had some holes that needed to be filled.

“Ottawa was at the top of the list. Once I’d heard from them, and spoken to (Dorion) and (Smith), and known that they had done their homework on me as well, I was definitely flattered. It’s a team that’s trending in the right direction; you look at what they did in the second half of the season and I love the way that D.J. has them playing. They play with a little bit of that old-school mentality with some jam, especially in the East because not many teams play that way.

“And there’s not many teams that want to play that way every single night. With me going into my 13th season, there’s a lot of experience and veteran leadership that I can provide with the team.”

Drafted No. 20 overall by the New York Rangers in 2008, Del Zotto will bring a veteran presence to the blueline. Yes, it will be up to Smith and the coaching staff on where everybody fits when they get into camp in September, but you can see a scenario where he’ll be on the left side of second pairing with Artem Zub while Thomas Chabot and Nikita Zaitsev form the top twosome.

Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, the indication is Nick Holden will play with Josh Brown so we’ll have to wait and see where Erik Brannstrom fits into this picture. There’s been no shortage of speculation he could be part of a deal to help the club acquire another forward, however that’s something that will play out over the course of the summer.

Being part of the Senators just made sense for Del Zotto.

“There was quite a few different positives for me looking at Ottawa,” Del Zotto said. “I did a pros and cons list for each of the teams that I had an offer from. It was a no-brainer for me in Ottawa and I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ve heard it’s a great group of guys and with the veteran leadership, it’s definitely a team that could use that.

“I don’t want to go in there and step on any toes early on, but I’m definitely looking to provide that and bring it on a daily basis.”

The good thing about a guy like Del Zotto, who has suited up for Rangers, Flyers, Canucks, Blues, Ducks and Blue Jackets during his career, is he knows what he can bring to the table. The Senators want him to provide steady defensive play and chip in the odd time offensively while also helping take some of the pressure off Chabot to play big minutes.

Del Zotto has suited up for 710 games in his NHL career because he’s reliable and he’s not afraid to put in the hard work to have success. You have to give Del Zotto credit for his perseverance because last year at free agency he wasn’t able to get a contract. He went into Columbus on a 1191331 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers reportedly file for arbitration with RFA Sanheim

BY JORDAN HALL

The Flyers filed for salary arbitration in negotiations with restricted free- agent defenseman Travis Sanheim, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Monday night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191332 Philadelphia Flyers because you’re not playing well enough with the guy you have or just not having that chemistry.”

That lack of stability at least in part helps to explain why Provorov never After down season, can Ivan Provorov return to peak form with more help truly “got going” in 2020-21. But it wasn’t the whole reason. on Flyers’ blue line? Regression with the puck

Provorov was never billed to be an elite offensive defenseman. But so far By Charlie O'Connor Aug 4, 2021 72 in the NHL, he’s had some very impressive seasons with the puck on his stick — his 17-goal, 41-point campaign in 2017-18 for starters, and his 13-goal (including seven on the power play) performance during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. Provorov may not be a Cale When Ivan Provorov hit the 2020 offseason last fall, it sure seemed like Makar-type blueliner, but he’s fully capable of making high-end plays with he had turned the corner in his long-term development as an NHL the puck. defenseman. In 2020-21, however, his misplays with it were far more memorable and Provorov had just concluded his best regular season yet with the Flyers, far too frequent. and then capped it off with a playoff run that saw him take on nearly 26 minutes per night and score the dramatic, double-overtime game-winning While Provorov’s point production ultimately ended up around reasonable goal in Game 6 of the team’s second-round playoff series against the expectation — a 38-point pace over 82 games, which stands as his third- New York Islanders. In short, he entered the offseason with that most efficient scoring season — a deeper look at his results hints at a nebulous but much-coveted feeling — momentum. with-the-puck drop-off that matched the eye test.

Sure, Provorov hadn’t quite taken the leap into true Norris Trophy- For starters, despite over 1,030 minutes played at five-on-five — 14th contending status. And yes, all agreed that he certainly benefitted from among NHL blueliners — Provorov produced just four primary points the presence of veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen beside him. But (goals and primary assists). That 0.23 Primary Points per 60 minutes rate Provorov was just 23 — there was more than enough time for him to take ranked Provorov 191st out of 231 defensemen with at least 200 minutes another leap. And as for Niskanen, it was reasonable to argue that the played. Add in the secondary assists and he still only jumps up to 153rd wily veteran had been aided at least as much by Provorov as the other (0.64 Points/60). Provorov just wasn’t an efficient producer of five-on-five way around; after all, Niskanen was in the midst of a statistical slide (that offense. inspired the Washington Capitals to trade him in the first place) before being paired with Provorov. Even with Niskanen gone, Provorov’s He was less of a transition threat with the puck as well. Both his continued ascension to the top-tier of NHL defensemen didn’t merely controlled exit rate (ability to cleanly push the puck out of his zone and seem possible — it felt likely. into the neutral zone) and his controlled entry rate (willingness and ability to shuttle the puck into the offensive zone with possession) dipped as Of course, that’s not at all how Provorov’s season played out. well, per Corey Sznajder’s tracking.

Provorov’s raw production didn’t dip all that much, and he was still used All statistics are five-on-five only and courtesy of Corey Sznajder’s as the Flyers’ big-minutes, No. 1 defenseman — a status that essentially tracking. earned him the Barry Ashbee Trophy given to the team’s best defenseman by default. But the perception of Provorov’s season was Finally, one of Provorov’s biggest feathers in his cap from 2019-20 — his nowhere near as rosy. Without Niskanen by his side, Provorov simply unique ability to snipe power play goals from distance — completely didn’t appear to impose his will on the game the same way, an abandoned him this past season. Despite extended time on the top unit observation supported by advanced metrics as well as the eye test. (ahead of Gostisbehere), Provorov failed to score a single PP goal after lighting the lamp seven times the previous season. But was Provorov’s season that bad? Or were his apparent struggles more a product of being placed into a difficult situation absent an ideal Offensively, Provorov certainly could have been better. partner on a team that ultimately ended up in utter free fall? Even at 24, Was Provorov’s season actually that bad? the question of what exactly Provorov is — and how best to unlock him — looms large, both in terms of leaguewide perception and (more One quote from exit interview day that turned heads was from Provorov importantly) the Flyers’ biggest recent offseason additions on the back when he was asked for a self-evaluation of his just-concluded season. end. The general fan base consensus held that Provorov had disappointed, but he didn’t share that personal frustration — at least on the record. In the wake of Niskanen’s retirement, the biggest question surrounding the Flyers’ roster was simple: who would be Provorov’s new regular “I think I had a solid season,” Provorov said. “I think overall when the partner? team game is not there, and we’re not clicking as a five-man unit, it’s hard for anyone to play to the best of their abilities. So I think I had a The ultimate answer ended up being no one. solid year, but of course, everyone wishes we did better.” Yes, the coaching staff did eventually settle on Justin Braun as Provorov’s issues with the puck were very real. And it’s absolutely fair to Provorov’s primary partner for the second half, but that decision had the say that 2020-21 wasn’t one of Provorov’s better seasons in the NHL. unmistakable vibe of being a last resort. The Philadelphia coaching staff But it’s worth exploring the case that his year may not have been as poor holds Braun in high regard, but they undoubtedly realized that a 34-year- as general consensus held in its immediate wake. old defense-centric blueliner wasn’t best deployed in first-pair minutes. But their other, “better” options failed to stick — Shayne Gostisbehere’s For starters, Provorov’s defensive work largely held up. For the fourth strong surface-level advanced metrics with Provorov hid that against top time in his five NHL seasons, Provorov graded out as a plus chance competition and top-tier opponents they struggled together; Travis suppressor per Evolving-Hockey’s xG RAPM model, even if he checked Sanheim never flashed real chemistry with Provorov; Philippe Myers in dangerous close to the break-even mark (-0.001). In terms of goal struggled in 2020-21 alongside anyone and certainly wasn’t playing at a prevention, however, Provorov’s impact was dramatic, as he drove down high enough level to thrive in first-pair usage. actual goal scoring rates (per the RAPM model) by -0.126 per 60 minutes of play. So, the Flyers ended up giving Provorov a revolving door’s worth of partners, even within games, as even after Braun took up the “full-time” The result? On a team with a minus-38 goal differential, Provorov role, the coaches still mixed-and-matched Provorov depending on the actually finished as a plus-4. Now, to be clear: plus/minus is obviously a situation. The results weren’t exactly stellar. flawed stat. But it matters to players, and also, when a player matched up against top competition nightly ends up on the positive side despite “I think (Niskanen) left a very big hole in the back end,” Braun said in the skating for a poor team, there’s probably truth to the argument that he wake of the season. “We had a pretty good setup with roles and what was doing something right, at least in terms of avoiding the types of guys were doing last year and the stability back there. Losing a guy like backbreaking mistakes that plagued the rest of the blue line corps. that, you lose that steadiness night in, night out. Who your partner is going to be? We were bouncing around a lot trying to find chemistry. In addition, Provorov’s raw scoring totals — as noted before — weren’t That’s on the remaining guys to step up and fill that hole. We just didn’t terrible. Buoyed by a career-high 10 power play assists, Provorov ended do it. You end up in that situation where you’re switching partners a lot up on pace for 10 goals and 28 assists (38 points) in a full 82-game slate, In December 2020, when it became clear that the Flyers were not going and yet again, he did not miss a single game. Add in the 25 minutes per to be replacing Niskanen with a similarly talented defenseman, I wrote night he skated without a clear-cut partner who truly fit on the first pair that Provorov’s looming 2020-21 season could go in three realistic stylistically or in terms of all-around talent, and it’s not difficult to take a directions, and there were distinct, logical implications that would result step back and acknowledge that Provorov’s 2020-21 campaign wasn’t a from each one. total disaster. 1. Provorov regresses without Niskanen That said, it certainly wasn’t a great one. The offensive regression was real and Provorov’s underlying even strength metrics again dipped into Implication: He’s more of a very good No. 2 than a true No. 1, and the the negative territory — in large part because he struggled to help his Flyers should spare no expense to get that No. 1. team create shots and chances when he was on the ice. Even 2. Provorov basically repeats his (very good but not elite) 2019-20 accounting for usage, it was a down season for Provorov — which stands as the continuation of a concerning trend. Implication: He’s likely a No. 1, and the Flyers can look at acquiring a solid, top-4 RHD to fill out the blue line corps rather than a high-end guy. The good year/mediocre year problem 3. Provorov takes another step forward and establishes himself as elite Ever since the Flyers’ string of five consecutive playoff appearances was halted in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, inconsistency has been Implication: Give him all the Luke Schenns and Jan Ruttas and Jake part and parcel of their overarching brand. The Flyers deliver a promising Dotchins as partners, and it won’t matter. Provorov will thrive anyway. season, complete with notable breakouts on the part of key players and a It’s fairly obvious that Provorov’s season ultimately went in the direction well-earned playoff berth, only to crash right back to earth the following of Scenario No. 1 — and so did the Flyers’ takeaways from it. year and prove all the resulting hopes and expectations to be premature. The best players on the next great Flyers team, therefore, need to avoid At 24 (going on 25), Provorov is still young, but he’s also in the heart of that one-good-year, one-bad-year trend to push the organization to the his prime, so statements can be made about what he is (and isn’t) next level. without constantly having to add the caveat of “but he’s destined to get even better.” His limitations truly may stay limitations. And they’re very So far, Provorov has not merely failed to avoid that trap — he’s been a real — Provorov has yet to show the ability to truly carry a pairing, and poster child for it. while he does possess the ability to make high-difficulty, creative plays Let’s set aside Provorov’s rookie season. It wasn’t perfect, but it was with the puck, he’s far from perfect in that regard. Provorov will go incredibly promising for a 19-year old, given that it was largely spent in through stretches when he proves prone to glaring, avoidable turnovers top-pair usage alongside Andrew MacDonald. He scored 30 points, the and has never truly established himself as an impact facilitator on the best statistical models graded him out as a slightly above break-even power play, beyond his surprise goal-scoring surge in 2019-20. His play-driver at even strength, and he consistently looked like the best offensive ceiling does appear to have clear boundaries. Flyers defenseman on the ice. A great start for the youngster. But Provorov has plenty of laudable qualities as well. He’s always been a Then, Year 2 — the first “breakout.” Provorov really didn’t get rolling until sound defender in his own zone. As a puck-mover, he has always graded late December when he was paired with Gostisbehere, but once that out somewhere between passable relative to the rest of the league (his happened, the rest of the league was in trouble. The Flyers’ second-half down years) and legitimately high-end in terms of generating controlled surge in 2017-18 was in large part driven by the Provorov-Gostisbehere exits at even strength. His durability and endurance are undeniable; tandem on the back end, a new-look, new-school first pair that could play Provorov has yet to miss a single NHL game in his five-year career, and high-octane hockey while still defending well enough to avoid liability he’s taken on about 25 minutes per night in each of his past three status. Add in his strong work in the playoffs — he was the only seasons. Finally, as he showed in 2017-18 and 2019-20, he can Philadelphia defenseman to finish the Pittsburgh series with a 50+ legitimately thrive as an all-around top-pair NHL defenseman — given percent xG share at five-on-five, and that was in spite of playing through the right partner, of course. a separated shoulder in Game 6 — and he looked on the path to So give the Flyers credit in that regard. They went out this summer and stardom. acquired players, at least in part, to make Provorov’s job significantly Instead, Provorov regressed. With Gostisbehere nowhere near his peak easier. and the organization in turmoil (both Ron Hextall and Dave Hakstol would Ryan Ellis isn’t a “bargain-hunting” acquisition. He’s a clear-cut top-pair ultimately be relieved of their duties), Provorov took a noticeable step quality righty shot defenseman, who — if the numbers are to be believed back, struggling with puck control and delivering career-low point totals — is really more of a stealth No. 1 than the No. 2 that Niskanen was. He (26) and even strength underlying metrics. For the first (but not last!) very well could jump Provorov as a power play option, negating that time, the “inevitable” result of Provorov turning into a no-doubt-about-it issue. And aside from physicality (Niskanen clearly has the edge here), No. 1 NHL defenseman on a Stanley Cup contender was justifiably called Ellis and Niskanen appear to have quite a few stylistic similarities. Check into question. out Niskanen’s microstat profile in the three seasons preceding his So what did the Flyers do? They made Provorov’s life easier, acquiring acquisition by the Flyers, and then Ellis’ profile from 2017-18 through both Niskanen and Braun during the 2019 offseason and slotting both 2019-20 (he battled injury throughout 2020-21 so we’ll leave that one Provorov and the rest of the defense into more comfortable roles with out). sufficient support. The result? Provorov’s most complete, consistent Strikingly similar across the board. Both qualify as strong puck-movers season of his career, a clear bounce-back that saw his scoring touch and have the ability to create offense for themselves, but neither qualified return, his underlying metrics rebound and an ability to take the reins as as puck hogs, either, monopolizing entries and shots and freezing their a big-minute blueliner on a darkhorse contender emerged. partners out in the process. Ellis and Niskanen aren’t identical That ability failed to pop up again in 2020-21, making for the second defensemen, but there’s every reason to believe that he’ll be a straight time that Provorov followed up an apparent “breakout” with an comfortable fit alongside Provorov and can help the 24-year old play to underwhelming campaign. his strengths and mask his weaknesses.

So what does this tell us about Provorov? For starters, his strong Of course, all the help won’t matter if Provorov doesn’t find it within seasons line up with the years when he was handed a high-quality himself to take another step forward in 2021-22. But given the Flyers’ partner (Gostisbehere in 2017-18, Niskanen in 2019-20), and his down roster changes, there’s every reason to believe he can do just that. years match up with the seasons when the Flyers asked him to The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 essentially carry a pair.

But it also hints that consistency remains an issue for Provorov, who, in his defense, is still just 24. He may get there one day, but right now, he’s not a set-it-and-forget-it No. 1 defenseman on a great team. He clearly needs more help than the true elites at the position do.

What is Provorov right now, and is another bounce-back looming? 1191333 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins fire goaltending coach Mike Buckley, name Andy Chiodo as replacement

SETH RORABAUGH | Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021 6:20 p.m.

Andy Chiodo has spent the previous three seasons as the Penguins’ goaltending development coach.

After not making any substantial moves with their goaltending depth this offseason, the Penguins fired the man who oversaw them.

Goaltending coach Mike Buckley was dismissed Wednesday and replaced by Andy Chiodo, previously the organization’s goaltending development coach. In his previous role, Chiodo worked with the franchise’s prospects at the position.

Buckley had spent the previous eight seasons on staff with the Penguins in various capacities, including the last four as goaltending coach.

Replacing incumbent goaltending coach Mike Bales in 2017, Buckley was promoted from the goaltending development coach position in 2017 largely for the benefit of former starter Matt Murray, whom Buckley coached with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

After leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2016 and ‘17, Murray did not enjoy the same success at the NHL level under Buckley’s watch and was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in October 2020.

While Tristan Jarry became an All-Star during the 2019-20 season under the guidance of the 44-year-old Buckley, he struggled this past postseason as the Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs in a first- round loss to the New York Islanders. During that six-game series, Jarry had a 2-4 record along with a 3.18 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.

Buckley had signed a two-year contract extension as recently as Sept. 2 and had one year remaining on his deal before being fired.

Chiodo, 38, replaces Buckley after spending the past three seasons as the goaltending development coach. A seventh-round pick (No. 199 overall) of the Penguins in 2003, Chiodo appeared in eight games for the team during the 2003-04 season going 3-4-1 with a 3.46 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191334 Pittsburgh Penguins “It’s the closest I’m ever going to get to becoming a real general manager, but I can do it from my couch,” Malone said. “We’re all going to end up sharing that pie…. We’re going to use (the athletes’) stats in our league. But now, they can actually be attached and make money.” Ryan Malone on his tech-savvy sports business venture, state of the Penguins, Sidney Crosby memories And, essentially, fans can become minority owners of the team.

Any chance the Pirates can go on a blockchain?

TIM BENZ | Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021 6:01 a.m. During the conversation, Malone also touched on some other matters on the ice, specifically about his former teams in Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

• If the Lightning have a legitimate shot to three-peat: “I think Tampa The Penguins’ Ryan Malone celebrates his second-period goal with definitely has a chance to do three in a row. Why not? The core pieces Sidney Crosby past the Flyers’ Mike Richards in Game 5 of the 2008 are there. They should still have that swagger going in.” Eastern Conference Finals on May 18, 2008, at Mellon Arena. • If the Penguins’ window to compete for a Stanley Cup is still open with When former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Malone gutted up to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin: “I don’t think you can count those return to play after taking a puck to the face in Game 5 of the 2008 guys out when you have Sid and Geno. I think the management there Stanley Cup Final, it was a moment Penguins fans of that era will never now can help find those pieces that can impact them in the playoffs. forget. That’s ultimately what matters. Just get in the playoffs and let the big boys have at it.” Nor will they ever forget his two power-play goals to help eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Final. • On last month’s 16th anniversary of the Penguins winning the 2005 draft lottery to select Sidney Crosby: “I was on the golf course and people Now in retirement, Malone can draw a smile from those memories just started screaming that we got Sidney Crosby. It was a game- forever, too. But in his new business venture, the Upper St. Clair product changer. It was great to hear that we were going to get the opportunity to hopes those moments from his past can lead to something else: financial snag him. First seeing him in camp, just seeing how explosive he was. profit. Everybody talks about (Connor) McDavid now. That’s how he was back Malone is partnering with two outlets — Ultimate Franchise Fantasy then.” Sports and Athlete Owned Sports — to take advantage of the rise in the • Where the Penguins can find another Ryan Malone-type power forward: NFT cryptographic marketplace and channel funds back to athletes “Well, (expletive) I’m feeling pretty good! I can go stand in front of the net themselves. and throw the weight around no problem…But, no, that (Josh) Anderson A NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique unit of data stored on a digital from Montreal looks like a big boy who can skate and make plays. He’d blockchain. A blockchain is a type of database that stores data in groups be a great pickup. But I don’t think Bergy (former Penguin defenseman known as “blocks” which, when filled, are “chained” onto the previously and current Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin) would give him filled block. NFTs can represent items such as pictures, videos and up.” audio. Anyone can obtain copies of these digital items. But NFTs are • Flashing back to being a Team USA 2010 Winter Olympian while tagged to the blockchain, hence providing the owner a potential revenue watching this year’s summer games in Japan: “I get goosebumps every stream separate from copyright. time I think about it. It was a dream I never thought was possible.” Last month, Reuters reported NFT sales to be at $2.5 billion this year, up Malone’s American squad lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime of the gold from just $13.7 million in the first half of 2020. medal game, courtesy of a Crosby game-winning goal. UFF Sports president Tony Charanduk explains how the concept works. “To be able to have the opportunity to do that and come so close. But Sid “It’s not the leagues or the players associations that we want to deal with. gets the goal as Sid usually does,” Malone said. “So I didn’t feel that bad We wanted to deal with the individual athletes,” Charanduk said. … He’s just meant to do that stuff, I guess.” “Physically, the real athlete is attached to that NFT. They are going to Tribune Review LOADED: 08.05.2021 profit from that NFT participating in this digital world. Whether it is fantasy sports, e-sports, cryptocurrency in general.

“As they participate in our ecosystem, we are going to drive revenue to these NFTs which the athlete sells to somebody. So somebody buys that NFT — that digital version of them — so they are in business with that athlete.”

In other words, it’s a way for fans to financially invest in athletes in a similar way to how they’ve emotionally invested in them during competition. Malone sees the new marketplace as a direct way for athletes to profit from themselves.

“The intention of really helping the athlete is there, and we are just at the starting line … We all have that same goal in mind of giving that power back to the athletes, and then to the fans,” Malone said.

Nik Lewis is the Chief Executive Officer at Athlete Owned Sports and a former wide receiver who is about to be inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame. He says the partnership with UFF Sports and the NFT market expansion will provide numerous outlets for athletes to provide content.

“Some are going to have cooking shows. Some will have hunting shows. Some will do NFL gameday shows. It just won’t be ‘an ESPN’ that owns it,” Lewis said. “Athletes will always own their content. We don’t buy their content. We have a monetization system that allows you to distribute your content and make more money than anywhere else.”

Malone says the format lends itself perfectly to players on the fantasy sports platform, too. Because players who get involved on the NFT level now have the chance to profit by being drafted onto fantasy teams when fans invest in a club they like. 1191335 Pittsburgh Penguins Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League to the Calder Cup Final in 2004. His professional career lasted 14 years, including stints in the AHL, ECHL and over in Europe.

Penguins fire goaltending coach Mike Buckley, tab Andy Chiodo as his Prior to rejoining the Penguins as a coach in 2018, Chiodo spent the replacement 2017-18 season as the goalie coach for the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League. He also trains NHL goalies during the offseasons. His most notable pupil was Jordan Binnington, who won the Cup with the St. Louis Blues two years ago. Matt Vensel4-5 minutes 8/5/2021 Post Gazette LOADED: 08.05.2021

The Penguins on Wednesday announced they had fired goaltending coach Mike Buckley, more than two months after first-time starter Tristan Jarry’s nightmarish performance torpedoed their chances of making a deep playoff run.

“The Penguins are grateful to Mike Buckley for his contributions to the team and wish him and his family the best going forward,” Ron Hextall, who is in his first year as general manager, said in a statement announcing the firing.

Former Penguins goalie Andy Chiodo will replace Buckley, who helped a pair of promising goalies rise to the NHL, only to watch their development stall.

Buckley joined the organization in 2013 as their goaltending development coach and was instrumental in Matt Murray’s emergence. With Buckley’s help, the 2012 third-round pick blossomed into one of the NHL’s top goalie prospects.

Murray backstopped the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, becoming the only NHL rookie to ever do that. After the latter of those two titles in 2017, Buckley was bumped up to the NHL bench, replacing goalie coach Mike Bales.

But Murray’s performance took a nose dive in the years following Buckley’s arrival in Pittsburgh. Murray battled injury and bouts of inconsistency and was no longer bulletproof in the playoffs before he was traded to Ottawa last year.

The Penguins kept Buckley in the fold, in part because of his relationship with Jarry and Casey DeSmith. He aided Jarry, a 2013 second-round pick, in his ascension to an All-Star level. And he goes way back with DeSmith, the undrafted and undersized goalie who played for Buckley at the University of New Hampshire.

Jarry in 2021, his first season as a No. 1 goalie in the NHL, bounced back from a shaky start to give the Penguins solid goaltending most nights. And DeSmith once again proved to be one of the NHL’s best bargains between the pipes.

But everything unraveled for Jarry and the Penguins in their first-round playoff loss to the New York Islanders. Jarry gave up 21 goals in six games with a .888 save percentage. His double-overtime gaffe in Game 5 was one of the biggest blunders in team history and he looked shell- shocked in the series clincher.

The Penguins entered the offseason eyeing an upgrade in goal. But goalies flew off the shelf in free agency and nothing has materialized on the trade market. Hextall insists he would be comfortable entering 2021- 22 with Jarry as the No. 1.

With Jarry likely coming back, the Penguins want a different voice in his ear.

Chiodo will be tasked with getting the 26-year-old back on track and helping him to finally deliver consistent results over a full season. Jarry has shown flashes, like the seven sparking weeks in 2019 that earned him an All-Star Game invitation.

“Andy has done a terrific job mentoring our young goaltenders,” Hextall said of Chiodo, who will be an NHL goalie coach for the first time. “In addition to on- and off-ice training, he emphasizes the importance of life habits and mental approach to the game. We know Andy will be a great addition to the coaching staff. “

The 38-year-old Toronto native spent the last three seasons as the organization’s goaltending development coach, working with goalie prospects throughout the organization in Europe, the minor leagues, juniors and college hockey.

Chiodo was originally a seventh-round draft pick of the Penguins in 2003. He played eight games during the 2003-04 season then led Wilkes- 1191336 Pittsburgh Penguins “To see him raise a Cup for another year was priceless,” Joseph said. “There’s not a lot of Black names on this Cup and hopefully the future will bring more and more diversity on it.”

Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph hopes to be positive All in all, what Joseph really wants is to show kids that it doesn’t matter influence for Black youth what your background is.

“If you want to play in the NHL, you got to believe it, you got to work for it,” Joseph said. “Everybody, whether you’re white, Black, if you believe Aidan Joly Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Aug 4, 2021 11:05 AM4-6 minutes in this or that, you have your chance to be in hockey or any other sport.” 8/4/2021 Post Gazette LOADED: 08.05.2021

Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph knows what it is like to be a Black hockey player in the youth leagues.

Now, he is paying it forward to the next generation.

The 22-year-old was a guest instructor for the Willie O’Ree Academy on Tuesday night at the UMPC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry to help a program that is designed to promote diversity and inclusion in hockey.

The kids at the academy on Tuesday night were surprised by their coaches with the appearance, and it is one that they relished, enjoying their time with Joseph as he helped them during their drills and joked around with them.

“Their faces meant everything to me. Their eyes got big, the smiles on everyone’s faces, how could you not be happy to be there with those kids and have some fun for an hour?” Joseph said afterward.

On top of that, Joseph said he was willing to answer questions about what it is like to be a young Black hockey player in a sport that still struggles with diversity at times, but is growing fast to be more diverse and inclusive.

“I feel like it’s easy for me to talk to them about stuff like that and give them some advice about how to react about negative stuff that will happen on the ice, off the ice, stuff like that. I was happy to answer all of the kids’ questions,” Joseph said.

He believes that it is important for people to know about Willie O’Ree’s legacy as the first Black player in the NHL and he is now trying to teach others about the impact he has had on the hockey world.

“Every time I ask someone if they know who Willie O’Ree is and their answer is no, I’m trying to teach them a little bit about him. He means so much for us being able to play in this league,” Joseph said. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Willie back then, having the slurs [directed] at him and stuff like that. It was new for the world to have a Black player playing in the NHL. He just opened the path for us and our goals as the next Black athletes.”

Growing up in the Montreal area, Joseph was heavily influenced by P.K. Subban, one of the more recognizable Black hockey players. Subban was heavily involved in community outreach while he played for the Montreal Canadiens in terms of promoting the sport to people of all backgrounds. That is something that Joseph, and the Penguins as a whole, are hoping to emulate in Pittsburgh over the coming years.

“It just shows a little bit more about your personality, you just see him everywhere with a smile, having fun with kids,” he said. “I feel like that’s something that’s part of our values as a family, I just want to give back our values to other people as well.”

Those values are something that both him and the Penguins have and want to give back to the community, and Joseph was grateful that the Penguins have entrusted him, especially with just 16 career NHL games under his belt, to go into the community and make an impact.

“I was really happy that they thought of me. I want to stay here for as long as I can and my goal is to make an impact on the ice and also off the ice. Stuff like that will make a great impact on the community,” he said. “I feel like it’s our job as professional athletes to show kids and the next generation how everybody can reach their dream.”

Joseph’s brother Mathieu, who has spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lighting and has been on both of the back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams, has also had a big impact on him as well as the Black hockey community as a whole. Mathieu winning the Stanley Cup twice has had a big impact on P.O., and he hopes that more diversity in hockey will lead to more Black players winning championships and having success. 1191337 Pittsburgh Penguins Could be a little of both were true. Also, there is no rule preventing the Penguins from having a different roster when the regular season opens than the one assembled in early August.

Why the Penguins’ attempt to upgrade goalie position ended up being a However, with Hextall not known to have made a serious play to pry new coach Marc-Andre Fleury from the Blackhawks and Chiodo getting the call to replace Buckley, there is evidence to suggest the Penguins will go into training camp with Jarry as the starter and DeSmith as the backup.

By Rob Rossi Aug 5, 2021 21 Chiodo worked with each goalie at AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his previous role. He joined the Penguins as goaltending development

coach in June 2018. It was during his first season in that job when Jarry In the bottom-line NHL, a goalie coach usually doesn’t survive a two-time is said to have improved his practice habits — a development cited often Stanley Cup winner playing his way out of an organization. by Rutherford and Sullivan while Jarry asserted himself as the Penguins’ No. 1A and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game during the 2019-20 Mike Buckley stayed with the Penguins after they traded Matt Murray last season. October. As Jarry reached those heights, Chiodo worked with DeSmith in the AHL. That he was fired after Tristan Jarry, a recent All-Star, figuratively DeSmith had been signed to a three-year contract in January 2019, so exploded in the Penguins’ most recent postseason flameout was no ending up a cap casualty only a few months later did not leave Chiodo surprise. with a goalie in the best emotional space.

The timing of Buckley’s dismissal is curious, though. Perhaps it speaks to Chiodo’s skill as a goalie coach that DeSmith’s response to spending all of 2019-20 in the AHL was to outperform Jarry Forget the Friday news dump (but two days early) manner of the in the NHL when the Penguins called upon him last season. Surely it Penguins putting out a news release only a few minutes before 6 p.m. ET speaks to the Penguins’ disappointment with Jarry’s regression that Wednesday. Nobody that takes a coaching job in the NHL does so Buckley was fired and Chiodo promoted. expecting a pleasant ending. Hextall had never committed to retaining Sullivan’s entire coaching staff. Hired to be fired. That’s the way it works. When asked about the assistants returning, he repeatedly said no Still, a club making a significant change — and the goalie coach does changes were planned “at this time” or “as of now.” preside over the most important position in the sport — usually does not Hardly a full-throated endorsement and possibly writing on the wall for wait until over two months after its last game, let alone a week after the Buckley, who was promoted in a fashion similar to Chiodo when start of a new league year. Rutherford picked Murray over Fleury following the 2017 Cup victory. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall is slated to speak with reporters Buckley had been Murray’s guy, so to speak. Thursday. Until then, his only comment specific to Buckley was the final sentence of a quote provided in the new release: “The Penguins are Murray not fulfilling his potential to be a franchise-caliber goalie after grateful to Mike Buckley for his contributions to the team and wish him beginning his NHL career with a couple of Cup wins didn’t do in Buckley. and his family the best going forward.” Whether Jarry’s gaffe-filled series against the Islanders sealed the deal on Buckley’s tenure is for Hextall to address when he speaks with Andy Chiodo, who spent much of his playing days in the Penguins reporters. organization, is Buckley’s replacement. Chiodo spent the previous three seasons working with the Penguins’ goalie prospects. Seems likely, at the very least.

“Andy has done a terrific job mentoring our young goaltenders,” Hextall Nobody with the Penguins has publicly blamed Jarry for that series loss, said in the news release. “In addition to on- and off-ice training, he but Hextall, Burke and Sullivan have each said the Penguins were the emphasizes the importance of life habits and mental approach to the better team over those six games. If they’re right, the better team’s goalie game.” played to a .888 save percentage and minus-5.8 goals saved above average, as measured by the Hockey-Reference website. Hextall, a standout goalie as a player, was hired in February — only a couple of weeks after the surprising, sudden resignation of Jim As of late Wednesday, the only thing indisputable about the Penguins’ Rutherford. The Penguins also brought in Brian Burke as hockey goalie situation was that Jarry and DeSmith were still Nos. 1 and 2 on the operations president. depth chart — and the new goalie coach oversaw each of them playing their way back to Pittsburgh from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Together, Hextall and Burke are tasked with the toughest of assignments. They are to maintain a Cup contender around captain Chiodo is their guy. Sidney Crosby — and presumably Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, two franchise stalwarts Hextall said he hopes to re-sign before they become Of course, so was Buckley for Murray. free agents next summer — while also replenishing a prospects system The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 ravaged by Rutherford’s annual go-for-broke approach.

Only the Penguins have won three titles and reached the playoffs each of the past 15 seasons. Their objective is to do more of the former while continuing the latter at least until the expiration of Crosby’s contract after the 2024-25 season.

Easier said than done.

In fact, before Hextall took the Penguins’ job, Burke warned him it came with significant challenges. Case in point: Hextall couldn’t do much to take advantage of either the free-agent market and/or clubs seeking to trade players for budgetary reasons because he had to make the Penguins salary-cap compliant.

They were looking at a breach of more than $3 million before he traded Jared McCann to the Maple Leafs and allowed Brandon Tanev to be selected by the Kraken in the Seattle expansion draft. When free agency opened, the Penguins basically bargain shopped to fill out their roster.

People around the NHL thought upgrading the goaltending position would be a top priority. Either those people were wrong or Hextall couldn’t maneuver the Penguins into a position to bring aboard an option better than continuing with the tandem of Jarry and Casey DeSmith. 1191338 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Fire Goalie Coach Mike Buckley; Replace Him with Andy ChiodoPublished 11 hours ago on August 4, 2021

By Dan Kingerski

Some Pittsburgh Penguins fans have quietly, or not so quietly, pointed the finger at Penguins goalie coach Mike Buckley for Matt Murray’s regression and some degradation in Tristan Jarry’s game. On Wednesday, the Penguins relieved Buckley of his duties, according to GM Ron Hextall.

The team named former Penguins goalie and current goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo as the new goalie coach.

“Andy has done a terrific job mentoring our young goaltenders. In addition to on- and off-ice training, he emphasizes the importance of life habits and mental approach to the game,” said Penguins general manager Ron Hextall. “We know Andy will be a great addition to the coaching staff. The Penguins are grateful to Mike Buckley for his contributions to the team and wish him and his family the best going forward.”

Chiodo, 38, has spent the last three seasons with the Penguins. In his previous role, he was responsible for working with young goaltending prospects throughout the Penguins organization in Europe, the minor leagues, juniors, and college hockey.

He would have spent time with Jarry and backup Casey DeSmith in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and possible WBS Penguins starting goalie (and third Penguins goalie) Alex D’Orio, too.

Longtime fans and Wheeling Nailers fans may remember Chiodo in uniform, too. He was Pittsburgh Penguins seventh-round pick (199th overall) in 2003. He played for 14-year in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and Europe. The goaltender played eight career NHL games, all with Pittsburgh in the 2003-04 season, with a 3-4-1 record.

He played several seasons split between the WBS Penguins and Wheeling. He was teammates with Daniel Carcillo and Paul Bissonnette with the 2005-06 Nailers.

The Toronto, Ontario native played 72 games for the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2003-06 and went 31-30-5. In the playoffs with WBS, Chiodo went 14-11-0, which includes the team’s run to the 2004 Calder Cup Final, where the team eventually fell to the Milwaukee Admirals. The goaltender led WBS to the 2004 Final while posting a 2.18 goals-against average, .916 save percentage, and three shutouts in the postseason.

Chiodo continued to play professionally, mostly in Europe through the 2016-17 season. In 2007-08, his Finnish team, Karpat, won the league championship.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191339 Pittsburgh Penguins Some GMs privately groused that they didn’t get a crack at the Penguins’ first-round pick. No matter, Rutherford had his man.

Rutherford kept tinkering or trying to tinker in the NHL trade front before Pending a Trade, Penguins Appear Stuck in Holding PatternPublished 13 buying out defenseman (trigger warning) Jack Johnson, too. Rutherford hours ago on August 4, 2021 certainly didn’t lack decisiveness or aggression with his moves. From Rutherford, who was akin to the driver in the left lane flashing his lights, honking his horn, and weaving through traffic, to Hextall, who is patiently cruising in the right lane…with printed directions. By Dan Kingerski Both have positives and negatives, and we get to use hindsight to judge.

But just as PHN sounded the alarm, against popular opinion, in the Get comfy. The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have any money, not even a summer of 2017 that the Penguins were crucially short at third-line little, to continue their offseason changes. That’s not sources speaking or center, we’re doing so again but at multiple spots. The Penguins forward some inside dirt, though sources have confirmed several details to lineup does not have enough–anything. It’s short on depth scoring, grit, Pittsburgh Hockey Now. Much of the Penguins offseason now appears to physicality. hinge on the NHL trade market. The defense is short on defense. Perhaps Mark Friedman is an answer The current holding pattern is based on math (and not the “new math” at third-pairing for RHD, but that’s a pretty big gamble. The defense with friendly numbers and rounding up, then subtracting and rounding starved Philadelphia Flyers put him through waivers. Of course, Alain down before spinning on your head three times to guess the correct Vigneault and GM Chuck Fletcher could be entirely wrong, but it is a answer, which isn’t wrong because the teacher wants to protect your self- yellow flag. esteem). Pettersson Money No, these are ice-cold numbers. Another bit of math that may escape most when discussing the NHL Penguins general manager Ron Hextall can’t afford a free lunch at this trade is the replacement costs. If Hextall gets a team to take on moment. According to PuckPedia.com, the Penguins have just over $1.8 Pettersson’s salary, that’s $4 million in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ pocket, million of salary-cap space with 13 forwards and seven defensemen. If which can buy a lot. Even at $3 million, Hextall could go shopping and the Penguins buried Sam Lafferty in the AHL, they would have close to live with the consequences. $2.6 million. Now let’s assume the Penguins eat half of Pettersson’s deal. That’s a $2 They also have Zach Aston-Reese and his pending arbitration hearing as million hit for the next four years. Suddenly, the short-term savings don’t a pending expenditure. Aston-Reese will sit before the arbitrator on Aug. equal the long-term effect. That would be nearly $3 million in dead 23, unless the Penguins repeated the process of two years ago when money (including Johnson’s buyout cost) for the next four years. That they waited until Aston-Reese was seated at the table before agreeing to route probably isn’t on the printed maps, for good reason. a two-year, $2 million deal. Slow and steady is a definite change of pace, but where it’s going, we Pittsburgh Hockey Now broke that story, as sources said Aston-Reese still don’t know. was all-smiles then. Sources tell us talks are progressing this time, and there is optimism, but every dollar the Penguins spend beyond $1.835 Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.05.2021 million is a dollar they don’t have.

The Penguins can send Sam Lafferty to the AHL to recoup his $750,000, but that money is the bare minimum they need to sign a UFA, and Aston- Reese is a betting favorite to get MORE than $1.835 million.

Source are Saying…

PHN spoke to multiple sources with direct knowledge over the last couple of days. The best we can report with confidence is to cross off several free agents, at least for now.

Never close doors, but PHN must cross off UFA right-side defenseman Erik Gudbranson. It doesn’t sound like the Penguins have an interest in the stay-home defenseman, who is known more for his ability to rattle teeth than moving the puck (though we must assert he looked pretty good in his short stint with the Penguins beginning at the trade deadline in 2019).

Beyond Gulbranson, there is a litany of bargain bin free agents in whom the Penguins do not have an interest. The conversations were similar.

What about…? No. How about…? No.

Have you heard from…? Nope.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Fulcrum

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the Pittsburgh Penguins to have some interested parties on the NHL trade market for defenseman Marcus Pettersson, but the teams aren’t vibing his paycheck.

One phone call could jump-start the Penguins offseason, an hour from now or a month from now.

What a contrast between the last two Penguins general managers, the swift-moving Jim Rutherford vs. methodical Ron Hextall. If it seems Rutherford would have made several moves by now, that’s because there is ample precedent. Rutherford didn’t wait for other teams to get a say last August when he spun his first-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Kasperi Kapanen while other teams were competing in the early rounds of the playoffs. 1191340 San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks come to terms with key RFA on two-year contract

By CURTIS PASHELKA | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: August 4, 2021 at 5:13 p.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2021 at 8:18 p.m.

SAN JOSE – The Sharks got a big piece of their offseason business done Wednesday, coming to terms with goalie Adin Hill on a new two- year contract and avoiding salary arbitration. The contract’s average annual value is $2.175 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Hill was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and had filed for salary arbitration on Sunday. “We’re pleased to get Adin under contract solidifying our goaltending position for the coming season,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. The Sharks acquired Hill, 25, and a 2022 seventh-round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes last month for goalie Josef Korenar and a 2022 second-round pick. Last season, Hill, who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 202 pounds, went 9-9-1 record with a .913 save percentage. In 49 career NHL games, all with the Coyotes, Hill is 19-21-4 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.79 goals- against average. Hill has never been a No. 1 goalie for a full NHL season, but the Sharks are bullish about his potential. “Just a guy that’s in that right age group, that is up and coming. He’s going to be able to take this opportunity I think and run with it,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said last week of Hill. “He big, he’s quick, athletic, all the things that you want in a goaltender.” With the deal, the Sharks now have their goalie tandem under contract for the next two seasons. The Sharks signed James Reimer to a two-year, $4.5 million contract on July 28, the first day of NHL free agency. The day before, the Sharks bought out the final three years of Martin Jones’ contract. Jones then signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. “It’s going to be a competition every night for everybody in any position,” Boughner said. “Both (Hill and Reimer) are going to see plenty of ice and have great opportunities. (We’ll) see how training camp goes and the preseason goes, but we’re looking forward to both these guys coming in and strengthening that position.” This past spring, Hill played at the World Championships where he and Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro helped Team Canada win the gold medal. In three games at the World Championships, Hill went 1-1-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. The Sharks have one restricted free agent remaining in forward Noah Gregor, who is not yet eligible for arbitration. The Sharks announced July 26 that they had extended a qualifying offer to Gregor to retain his negotiating rights.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191341 San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks staying (mostly) close to home for preseason games

By CURTIS PASHELKA | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: August 4, 2021 at 11:15 a.m. | UPDATED: August 4, 2021 at 11:20 a.m.

SAN JOSE – The Sharks’ preseason will feature three games against the Anaheim Ducks, two with the Vegas Golden Knights and one with the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks’ preseason begins Sept. 26 with split-squad games in Anaheim and Vegas, respectively, and continues with a home game with the Kings on Sept. 28. San Jose’s exhibition schedule concludes with a road game against Anaheim on Sept. 30, followed by home games on Oct. 4 against Anaheim and Oct. 9 with Vegas. NHL teams did not play exhibition games last season. Due to Santa Clara County health regulations, the Sharks had to hold their training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Sharks are planning to host capacity crowds at SAP Center this upcoming season. Their first regular-season game is Oct. 16 at home against the Winnipeg Jets. The Sharks announced that all exhibition games will be broadcast on the team’s audio network and mobile app. It is still unclear, though, if the Sharks’ broadcasters will be able to call road games on site, as the NHL has yet to announce its COVID-19 protocols for this season. Last season, broadcasters were not allowed to travel with the teams and had to call games remotely.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191342 San Jose Sharks

Sharks lock up goalie tandem, sign Hill to two-year deal

BY BRIAN WITT

The Sharks' goaltending situation has been settled. San Jose announced Thursday it had signed Adin Hill to a two-year contract. Hill, whom the Sharks acquired from the Arizona Coyotes last month, had filed for salary arbitration as a restricted free agent, but was able to come to an agreement with his new team beforehand. "We're pleased to get Adin under contract solidifying our goaltending position for the coming season," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a team statement. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hill, 25, appeared in 19 games last season for Arizona, earning a 9-9-1 record with a .913 save percentage (SV%) and 2.74 goals-against average (GAA) along with two shutouts. Over the course of his NHL career, he has appeared in 49 games, earning a 19-21-4 record with a 2.79 GAA and .909 SV%. With Hill's deal done, the Sharks have their goalie tandem locked up for the next two seasons. San Jose also signed James Reimer to a two-year contract on the first day of free agency.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191343 San Jose Sharks San Jose Hockey NowLOADED: 08.05.2021

John Madden Remembers Matiss Kivlenieks

Published 5 hours ago on August 4, 2021 By Sheng Peng

“Everything you’ve read about him is entirely accurate.” That’s how San Jose Sharks assistant coach John Madden described Mattis Kivlenieks. The goaltender played for Madden on the Cleveland Monsters from 2017-19. The 24-year-old goaltender was killed by an errant fireworks mortar blast a month ago at an Independence Day party. During Kivlenieks’s memorial service, teammate Elvis Merzlikins said Kivlenieks saved others, including Merzlikins’s wife and their unborn child, when he stopped the explosive. “I’m not surprised,” Madden told San Jose Hockey Now. “Because that’s the type of guy he was. He was always putting people first.” That was Kivlenieks from the moment that he joined Madden-helmed Cleveland straight out of the USHL as a 21-year-old in October 2017. “He was always smiles, always working hard,” Madden recalled. “He was just respectful to everybody. He put his teammates first. “He was there to try and get better, but also to help everybody else out as well.” Madden remembers a mature young man, who skipped the normal USHL-to-college route to go straight to the AHL. Kivlenieks played 43 games for the Monsters in 2017-18, a number-one goalie in the AHL who had just turned 21. “We wouldn’t play very good in front of him and he’d see like 40 shots. We get a TV timeout and I’d be like, ‘Hang in there.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh no, I’m good, I’m good,'” Madden recounted. “He was always positive. “All his teammates loved him. I never heard a bad thing about him at all. In fact, it was the opposite, [I heard] how much they enjoyed being around him.” The feeling was mutual. “He just enjoyed being around the guys,” Madden said. “He was always first one at the rink. Last one to leave. I remember seeing [him] when I was staying hours after practice.” Madden’s favorite memory of Matiss Kivlenieks? “You could see him light up when we were going to play Rockford,” Madden laughed. “His first two seasons that I had him, I don’t think he lost a game in Rockford.” Kivlenieks was 4-0-0 with a .959 Save % against the IceHogs during Madden’s Cleveland tenure. Like everybody else, Madden was looking forward to what was next for the emerging goaltending prospect. “Manny Legace and Brad Thiessen, the two goalie development guys there, they’ve always, from day one, they said this kid’s got something and it’s just gonna take some time,” Madden recalled wistfully. Legace was Monsters goaltending coach and Thiessen was a teammate during Kivlenieks’s rookie AHL campaign. Both were also in attendance at the party — held at Legace’s Michigan house and celebrating Legace’s daughter’s wedding — where Kivlenieks died. It was taking some time — four AHL campaigns — but Kivlenieks was on the cusp of being an NHL regular. He had played eight NHL games over the last two seasons. Madden, for his part, wasn’t surprised at all by Mattis Kivlenieks’s upward trajectory, which included backstopping Latvia’s first-ever victory over Canada in the 2021 World Championships this year. “The whole time that I coached there and he was there, I just remember him showing up every day and smiling, ready to go,” Madden said. “Just kept things going forward. No matter what happened, he just kept going forward.”

1191344 San Jose Sharks If they so choose, it appears that San Jose has about $3 million dollars of cap space to use at the moment.

How Much Cap Space Do Sharks Have After Signing Hill? San Jose Hockey Now LOADED: 08.05.2021

Published 7 hours ago on August 4, 2021 By Sheng Peng

Adin Hill has signed with the San Jose Sharks for two years. Per Elliotte Friedman, Hill’s AAV is $2.175 million. “We’re pleased to get Adin under contract solidifying our goaltending position for the coming season,” GM Doug Wilson said in a press release. Acquired with a 2022 seventh-round draft pick from Arizona for Josef Korenar and a 2022 second-round pick, Hill is expected to combine with recent UFA signing James Reimer to shore up the San Jose Sharks’ goaltending. Sharks netminders finished with an .891 Save % last year, tied for second to last in the NHL. Hill had filed for arbitration on Sunday, but that won’t be necessary anymore. This is what the San Jose Sharks’ cap situation looks like now with Hill in the fold. FORWARDS 2021-22 Cap Hit Couture, Logan $8,000,000 Kane, Evander $7,000,000 Meier, Timo $6,000,000 Hertl, Tomas $5,625,000 Labanc, Kevin $4,725,000 Bonino, Nick $2,050,000 Balcers, Rudolfs $1,550,000 Gambrell, Dylan $1,100,000 Barabanov, Alexander $1,000,000 Cogliano, Andrew $1,000,000 Nieto, Matt $850,000 Pederson, Lane $750,000 Dahlen, Jonathan $750,000 TOTAL $40,400,000 DEFENSE 2021-22 Karlsson, Erik $11,500,000 Burns, Brent $8,000,000 Vlasic, Marc-Édouard $7,000,000 Simek, Radim $2,250,000 Ferraro, Mario $925,000 Knyzhov, Nikolai $796,667 Pasichnuk, Brinson $925,000 TOTAL $31,396,667 GOALTENDING 2021-22 Hill, Adin $2,175,000 Reimer, James $2,250,000 TOTAL $4,425,000 BUYOUT 2021-22 Jones, Martin $1,916,667 TOTAL $1,916,667 OVERALL $78,138,334 1191345 Seattle Kraken 30-goal man to ignite the offense. Nine of the playoff teams had at least one 35-goal-scorer, while five had a 40-goal man.

For now, though, while the Kraken seeks additional offense with about Yanni Gourde heads Kraken list of several possible 20-goal scorers — $16 million in salary cap space, it may already have as many 20-goal and maybe more once freed from shoulder pain men as the NHL’s better teams. After all, Gourde, Eberle and Donskoi just tallied 20 or more actual goals this past campaign over a span of matchups, including playoffs, amounting to less than the usual 82-game regular season slate. Aug. 4, 2021 at 4:46 pm Updated Aug. 4, 2021 at 5:13 pm Wennberg scored 17 with Florida in the shortened regular season and By Geoff Baker another in the playoffs and it’s hoped he’ll show upside in an expanded Seattle Times staff reporter “top-six’’ forward role. And Schwartz already has four 20-goal campaigns, most recently two seasons ago when he notched 22 with St. Louis.

Jarnkrok, Blackwell, McCann and Appleton were all just over or slightly Few realized as incoming Kraken center Yanni Gourde was slamming under a 20-goal pace during the reduced 56-game schedule. And while and crashing his way to another Stanley Cup championship this summer that won’t automatically translate to an actual 20-goal season now — the that the pain in his left shoulder had grown too big to ignore. grind of 82 games potentially slowing that scoring pace — it’s possible one or more gets there. The 5-foot-9, 173-pound sparkplug had done his best the past two seasons to conceal the throbbing aches beneath an onslaught of hard- The most famous NHL team to ride a wave of 20-goal men was the fought goals as his Tampa Bay Lightning captured a pair of titles. But by 1977-78 Boston Bruins, boasting a record 11 such players. Peter the time Quebec native Gourde and teammates were done with their McNabb had a team-high 44 goals, but no one else reached 30 as coach second consecutive celebratory boat parade up Tampa’s Hillsborough Don Cherry’s “Lunch Pail Gang” of hardworking, dump-and-chase River, he needed a surgeon’s help to play another shift. specialists took the dynastic Montreal Canadiens to six games in the Cup final before bowing out. “It’s been bugging me for over 18 months,’’ Gourde, 29, one of the more prominent players selected by the Kraken in last month’s expansion draft, These days, successful NHL playoff teams work just as relentlessly as said this week. “There’s a lot of stuff in that shoulder that didn’t work right Cherry’s did. The Kraken is heavily focused on getting two-way defensive and everything was caused by a labrum tear.’’ play and high-energy forechecking out of its forwards as it waits to see whether a more elite-level scorer emerges on the open market or within That comment, by a player whose relentless style typifies what the the group. Kraken aspires to become, captured both the risk and potential upside the team foresaw in selecting Gourde within days of his surgery. Kraken “They’re real good two-way players,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said of general manager Ron Francis knew Gourde would be sidelined roughly his forwards group. “They’re responsible with and without the puck. But four months and probably need until December to look anything like the there’s skill and ability there and that all comes out with how hard they havoc-wreaking third-line center who scored 17 goals in a pandemic- play.” shortened 56-game regular season, then six more in 23 playoff contests. Gourde actually led the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in scoring But Francis also knew Gourde’s 23 combined goals over that 79-game his final season with Victoriaville. But undersized, he went undrafted by stretch — equating almost exactly to a non-pandemic NHL regular- NHL teams and battled for years in the minors before his high-energy, season schedule — was achieved under physical duress. And that, in disruptive style caught on with the Lightning. healthier times, the onetime junior league scoring champion managed 25 goals as a Lightning rookie in 2017-18, making it easy to envision similar “There were definitely setbacks, times when it was harder than others,’’ returns playing within the Kraken’s top two lines — perhaps to where Gourde said. “But I kept battling and I kept pushing. I wanted more all the Gourde even becomes that missing 30-goal man on a roster lacking time.’’ proven elite scorers. When Gourde finally does get back on the ice, the Kraken will see just Gourde wants to avoid putting “too much pressure on myself’’ but is how much more he can give them than he’s already produced. And admittedly excited about the increased opportunity after four seasons whether the gap between this team and playoff-level offenses might with a star-studded Lightning squad offering few openings beyond its actually be smaller than some think. bottom two lines. Years back, he’d seen good friend Jonathan Marchessault go from fringe Lightning forward to a 30-goal scorer with Florida, then a bona fide star with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. Seattle Times LOADED: 08.05.2021 “It’s pretty nice to know that a team wants you that bad when there were a lot of very talented people that were left unprotected,’’ Gourde said of the Kraken. For all the concerns about the Kraken’s lack of elite scoring, it has quietly assembled a collection of potential 20-goal scorers that could rival most playoff teams. There’s an argument the roster contains as many as nine potential 20-goal men between Gourde, Jordan Eberle, Alex Wennberg, Jaden Schwartz, Joonas Donskoi, Calle Jarnkrok, Jared McCann, Colin Blackwell and Mason Appleton. Not all will get there, of course, and Gourde already missing a month or two makes his hitting that target more difficult. While the Kraken hopes a healthy Schwartz bounces back after an oblique injury last season and that Wennberg, Appleton and Blackwell progress with added responsibilities, regression is also possible, even likely, for some players. The last NHL team with nine 20-goal scorers was the 1992-93 Washington Capitals, and hockey has changed plenty since. Better goaltending, greater competitive balance, fewer power-plays and more blocked shots have helped make a 20-goal season as tough as 30 once was to reach. Thus, if the Kraken manages even four or five 20-goal scorers, the offense would have a solid foundation to compete for a playoff spot. In 2018-19, the last full NHL season not altered by COVID-19, only two of 16 playoff teams had more than five 20-goal scorers. Toronto and Washington had seven apiece, while seven teams had five, three had four and four squads had just three 20-goal men. A big thing appearing to separate those playoff clubs from the Kraken is all but two — Vegas and the New York Islanders — had at least one elite 1191346 Seattle Kraken

Gourde excited for chance in Seattle even with start delayed

BY TIM BOOTH AP SPORTS WRITER AUGUST 04, 2021 01:20 PM

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.”

News Tribune LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191347 Seattle Kraken Hughes explained that every manufacturer works from the global color wheel. For example, a team’s color on the color wheel could be Pantone 190 or as it is also known, PMS 190. How PMS 190 looks on a sweater compared to how it looks on gloves, helmets and pants is different. How the Kraken will get equipment for an entire roster in time for training Hughes said the color schemes tend to be accurate 95 percent of the camp time, but there are times when, no matter the nylon material, there might be an extremely close match but not a perfect match.

Another wrinkle to deal with is the materials Bauer uses could come from By Ryan S. Clark a different supplier than CCM, so there might be some slight variances in Aug 4, 2021 unique accent colors, which could be the case with the Kraken’s light blue known as shadow blue or PMS 549 C on the color wheel. Hughes said that the chances of that happening are rare. Jeff Camelio is one of those Kraken employees you might not recognize. Skates and sticks are a more straightforward process by comparison, but That’s fine. He prefers it that way. All you need to know is Camelio is the the process of creating custom goaltending equipment is something he Kraken’s head equipment manager. He’s responsible for making sure described as another level. For every manufacturer creating custom pads items like gloves, helmets, pads, pants and skates arrive from is different when it comes to color patterns or the stitching process, manufacturers such as Bauer, CCM, True and Warrior in a timely fashion Hughes explained. before training camp begins. “I can comfortably say that withers, that it is not stitched on but there is a For you, July 21 was the day of the expansion draft. A day to discover different adhesive process and you can do anything you want based on who will play for the Kraken. For Camelio, it was the day when all the how we produced that,” Hughes said. “That takes between six-to-10 moving parts in his world started. He has already ordered quite a few weeks and that is when we are humming during the quiet time of year. pieces of equipment. If you want to get specific, it is 100 pairs of gloves, Between October and January is when you can get things done faster more than 300 helmets, 180 pants, and at least 60 elbow, shoulder and because hockey is happening and there is not a lot of production. But shin pads. All of these items are in storage lockers throughout Seattle, from February to August, we are at full capacity and it would probably be plus a few smaller items are stored at Camelio’s house. Everything else closer to that 10-week window.” is on standby at warehouses around the world. Camelio said he would like to refer to this period as the proverbial calm That is not even taking into account the custom equipment that must now before the storm. The issue with that is there has not really been a calm be ordered. Camelio said standard-issue equipment is a temporary moment. His mind races daily about what lies ahead. He asks himself if solution, but most players use custom-made equipment these days. A he ordered enough pants. If he has enough skate laces and tape. And player’s build could determine what length of pants they require. Some when he is not thinking about potential cargo ships getting stuck in companies scan the dimensions of a player’s head so they can get the canals, there are other items leaving him tossing and turning at night. exact measurements for their helmet. Being a head NHL equipment manager had been his lifelong dream. He Getting these parcels to Seattle before the start of training camp takes spent 15 years working in the ECHL and AHL before going to the NHL time. Camelio thinks about it every day to the point of near obsession. He with the Predators. Now he is at the vanguard of corralling all of these is the one thinking about how the slightest hiccup in construction at the different pieces for the NHL’s newest team. And he is doing this all while Kraken Community Iceplex can delay the timeline when it comes to trying to find time to purchase an anniversary gift for his wife, Michelle, housing all that equipment in one central location. He is the one thinking just days after the expansion draft — maybe something to make up for about how the surge in shipping has altered the landscape so much that the downstairs closet overflowing with carts, fans, tools, samples of tech companies are paying top dollar to have their goods delivered. He is hockey bags, pants and gloves. the one thinking about the potential ripple effect that could be caused if another cargo ship – whether they are carrying the Kraken’s equipment “My wife has been amazing. Our family is all in too, whether they want to or not – gets stuck in the Suez Canal. be or not!” Camelio said. “She was all for (them moving to Seattle). She told me, ‘I am happy that we are here and I will be happy when we get So yeah. Forgive Camelio if he is a little on edge at the moment. this stuff out of our house and get started.'” “What’s it like right now,” Camelio said last month. “It’s just having to be very patient for things to fall into place. All the equipment orders had to be placed months ago so we had lead time. Now, it is about when they The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 are going to arrive and how quickly can we get them out. … We are going to be up against a tight timeline with the draft being this late with the turnaround. I had a call today and the turnaround on custom gloves is four-to-six weeks. If we don’t get that order in before Aug. 1., we may not get it before training camp. A lot of this stuff is overseas and the shipping issues everyone is dealing with make it a gamble.” Camelio, who served as the Nashville Predators’ assistant equipment manager for 15 years, said the plan was to not instantly ask players for their equipment orders right after they were drafted. The Kraken wanted to give their future players some time to handle other items first. Camelio said he will wait for general manager Ron Francis and his front office staff to give him the green light before taking the next step. Once Francis and staff sign off, that is what makes people who work at those hockey equipment manufacturers rather critical. Darryl Hughes, who is the senior marketing director at Bauer, explained it started last year when the Kraken and NHL finalized their home and away uniforms. That allowed manufacturers to design glove and pant options. Going back to what Camelio said earlier about custom equipment, how does that work for a company like Bauer? Hughes said each manufacturer has every player’s specs on hand. From there, it is just a matter of creating a glove to meet those requirements in the Kraken’s color scheme. Say the Kraken selected Player X from Team A at the expansion draft. Hughes said Bauer would receive an order for two helmets, two pairs of pants and six pairs of gloves that are custom to that player. Assuming there are eight-to-10 players requesting Bauer equipment and the order is placed by Aug. 1, Hughes estimates delivery would be between Sept. 1-7, right before players show up for camp. “If a player has not decided if they want to use Bauer or CCM or something or got caught up in custom products, teams will have that backup standard inventory to get them by in the meantime,” Hughes added. 1191348 St Louis Blues

Blues, Sanford agree to one-year contract; arbitration averted

Jim Thomas

Just three days after filing for salary arbitration as a restricted free agent, Blues forward Zach Sanford has agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $2 million. He thus avoids an arbitration hearing, which had been scheduled for Aug. 14. Sanford will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of this deal, so he wasn’t seeking a multiyear deal. But that makes 2021-22 very much a prove-it season for the 26-year-old from Salem, Massachusetts. After a breakout year in 2019-20 that saw him set career highs across the board in goals (16), assists (14), points (30) and plus/minus (plus-13), Sanford regressed this past season. Playing in 52 of the Blues’ 56 regular-season games, he had 10 goals, six assists and was a career-worst minus-13. He missed one game due to illness, one game due to a false positive COVID test and was a healthy scratch twice. Late in the season, Sanford had some costly turnovers and didn’t seem to be playing with much confidence. He scored only two goals over the Blues’ final 26 games of the regular season. But over the course of the season, he had the least amount of giveaways per 60 minutes (0.85) among the 14 Blues forwards who played at least 22 games. On a team that didn’t have enough players willing to consistently set up in front of the net, Sanford had two goals on tip-ins. He was tied for second on the team in game-winning goals (three), and coach Craig Berube likes his defense. Sanford becomes the fourth Blues restricted free agent to come to contract terms since Friday, joining Ivan Barbashev, Dakota Joshua and Jordan Kyrou. That leaves Robert Thomas as the Blues’ only RFA not under contract. The Blues have made him a qualifying offer, and Thomas does not have arbitration rights. With the Sanford signing, the Blues have only $1.53 million of remaining salary cap space. Thomas is expected to come in north of that figure, which would put the Blues over the salary cap. But teams can be as much as 10% over the cap during the offseason. And there are several ways the team can get cap relief once it has to be cap compliant at the start of the regular season: • They can trade Vladimir Tarasenko, thus removing his $7.5 million cap hit from their books. • They can place Oskar Sundqvist, who underwent knee surgery about four months ago, on long-term injured reserve, meaning his $2.75 million cap figure wouldn’t count against the cap. • They could open the season with just 22 players on the roster, or one under the limit.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191349 St Louis Blues “The longer he got to know me and I got to know him, he realized that the things we were asking him to do were for one reason and one reason only, and that was to make him the best player he could possibly be,” Quinn said. “That’s kind of how the whole thing turned. His intentions What can the Blues expect from Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad? started to change, he approached the game a little bit differently, and he Those who know them best weigh in just really kind of took off. He became a well-rounded player, a guy who competed, and was very receptive to coaching.”

Buchnevich became less of an east-west skater, playing with more By Jeremy Rutherford purpose in his game. His ice time went up, and as a result, his production Aug 4, 2021 did, too. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, he went from 15:10 to 18:44 per game, and his points jumped from 38 in 64 games to 48 in 54 games.

“It was interesting even listening to him the last year or so,” Micheletti When David Quinn was fired by the New York Rangers in May, the said. “He would say, ‘I’m maturing as a player, maturing as a person, and person who reached out the most, wishing the coach well and checking when you mature, you start to understand.’ I think David Quinn was the on him occasionally, was Pavel Buchnevich. coach that really got to him. I think David Quinn did a really good job of really making him understand why he wasn’t getting the minutes he That may come as a surprise to those who remember when Quinn took wanted, and when he did get the minutes he wanted, why he was getting over the Rangers in 2018-19. Buchnevich was 23 at the time and in his those. It started to sink in, and so for the last year or two, he’s really third season in the NHL. Quinn, unhappy with the Russian’s effort and grown as a player, and last year was his best.” awareness, made him a healthy scratch in the sixth game of the season, and it wasn’t the last time. Buchnevich netted his 20 goals last season on 16.7 percent shooting, which was up from his career average (13.7). Quinn believes, however, “We were butting heads, and he wasn’t taking it well,” Quinn said this that Buchnevich could score more if he took more shots. He had 51 week. “There was a trade request, I think. I don’t know if it was a serious fewer than Zibanejad last season. one. I think it might have just been flying off the handle, maybe an emotional trade request or whatnot.” “He’s got to shoot the puck way more,” Quinn said. “He can really make plays, but one of the things that he and I talked an awful lot about, he’s That trade request was never fulfilled, and that tough love from Quinn got to add the shooting element to his game — he has to. eventually turned Buchnevich into one of the Rangers’ top forwards. He was second in goals (20) and fourth in points (48) last season, and would Quinn recalled conversations he had with Buchnevich after games in still be with them if not for the salary cap. The club is paying Artemi which he’d ask him why he passed up certain shots. Panarin an $11.6 million annual average value (AAV), and meanwhile, the team’s leading goal-scorer, Mika Zibanejad, and the reigning Norris “He’d say, ‘Well, (Chris) Kreider hasn’t had a goal in 11 games, I’m trying Trophy winner, Adam Fox, will be entering the final year of their contracts to set him up,'” Quinn said. “I’m like, ‘You can’t think that way!’ That’s in 2021-22. something, to me, is he can be a better goal-scorer than he is right now if he creates more of a shooting mentality.” So, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong pounced on Buchnevich, picking up the right winger in a trade on July 24 for Sammy Blais and a Buchnevich can work on that, but meanwhile, he can help St. Louis in an 2022 second-round pick, and three days later, signed him to a four-year, area in which it needs improvement: net-front presence. $23.2 million contract ($5.8 million AAV). In New York last season, Buchnevich scored three goals off tipped shots, During that 72-hour span, the person who reached out to Buchnevich the which was more than any Blues player. He had 12 tipped shots, which most was Quinn. was double the number of anyone on his new club. “When he got traded, we were texting, and when he signed his deal, we “You talk to any coach in the league, and I bet they want every player to were texting, so we’ve stayed in touch,” Quinn said. “He’s very excited, go to the net a little bit more, but he will go there,” Quinn said. he is. Listen, I’d be excited if somebody gave me $25 million bucks, too.” Buchnevich can also be relied on defensively. Buchnevich isn’t the only player to whom the Blues gave big bucks this According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, the Rangers allowed more offseason. shots on goal (364) than they took (333) with him on the ice. However, as On the second day of free agency, two days after the Buchnevich a sign of the strides he’s made in his own zone, the team was a plus-10 signing, they also inked Colorado forward Brandon Saad to a five-year, in goals for (39) and against (29) on those attempts. $22.5 million contract ($4.5 million AAV). “He’s a lot smarter in the D-zone than he was three years ago,” Quinn The two moves gave the team a new look in the top six, but at a said. “It’s more important to him, too. Playing defense is a choice in so combined cost of nine years in term and $45.7 million in salary. many ways, and I think he decided he wanted to be a better defensive player.” In order to find out what the Blues should be expecting for their investment, The Athletic reached out to Quinn as well as two Micheletti witnessed that, too. broadcasters — New York Rangers color analyst Joe Micheletti and “He’s improved dramatically,” the analyst said. “There’s more trust when Chicago Blackhawks color analyst Eddie Olczyk — who have perhaps he’s on the ice. They don’t always have to pull him off with the thinking seen Buchnevich and Saad as many times in person as anyone outside that he doesn’t have a defensive awareness and understanding of what the organization. he’s supposed to do.” Though Buchnevich was a few seasons removed from the KHL in 2018, In fact, Quinn had enough trust in Buchnevich last season that he made what Quinn encountered when he came aboard in New York was a him a full-time member of the Rangers’ penalty-killing unit. The winger player who was still having issues in North America, both culturally and went from 1:02 of ice time on the PK in 2019-20 to 2:19 in 2020-21, on the ice. which was the second-most of any forward. He led the team with three “In general, Russians, they’re a little bit skeptical when they come over,” shorthanded goals and was on the ice for five, while only eight power- Quinn said. “They don’t trust easily and sometimes it takes a little more play goals were scored by the opposition when he was on the PK. time. I think he went through a learning curve about what the National “We tried him just out of necessity and right from the get-go, he was Hockey League was all about.” good,” Quinn said. “He picked things up quickly and was one of our best Micheletti, a former player and coach and longtime broadcaster in the penalty killers.” league, has been going inside locker rooms for more than three decades, And that scowl Buchnevich wears? The surliness? Well, it’s still there, but chatting with players and learning more about them. But with it’s now part of the passion with which he plays. Buchnevich, it was difficult. “There’s no BS in his game,” Quinn said. “He was afraid to try and speak the language,” Micheletti said. “He didn’t smile much. He always had this scowl on his face, and he wasn’t a real Some may recall Buchnevich’s name being in the headlines in May when approachable guy, or at least he had the look that he wasn’t New York played Washington and Capitals forward Tom Wilson was not approachable.” suspended after body-slamming Panarin. After being a healthy scratch early in the season, Buchnevich was even Well, that all began with Buchnevich battling Wilson in the crease. With more surly. But Quinn sat him down multiple times and insisted that the Buchnevich’s head down on the ice, Wilson punched him from behind, Rangers’ intentions were genuine. which then escalated into the incident with Panarin. You may have noticed at the end of the video clip that it was Buchnevich “I said during the playoffs last year, I was completely shocked that he did who came to Panarin’s aid. not kill penalties last year,” Olczyk said. “He can also play on the PP. He was on the No. 2 unit in Colorado, and (the No. 1 unit) was so good, you “He’ll stick his nose in the mix,” Micheletti said. “Not that he’s a fighter, don’t get a lot of time. So there’s more to give there, but I think with more but from an emotional standpoint, standing up and helping when his reps and more opportunities, there’s going to be more points.” teammates are in those situations, I’ve seen him stick his nose in there a lot.” As much as Olczyk likes the addition of Saad, he believes the Blues got the better of the Buchnevich trade, too. Now 26, the many aspects of Buchnevich’s multifaceted game are coming together. But fortunately for the Blues, Quinn said there’s more. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ve upgraded their offense,” he said. “They were a team that, look, it was a challenge to finish (scoring “I think they got him right in the sweet spot,” he said. “He’s been a really goals). Now you’ve got some guys that have the ability to create more. good player the past few years, and without question, I think there’s Are there holes there? Yeah, but I haven’t seen a perfect team. Tampa is another level for him to get to. Sometimes we lose sight of people’s age. pretty close to perfect, but every team has blemishes. A guy has been in the league for a couple of years, and we want him to be something that maybe they’re not ready to be. But he’s certainly “I think the Blues have the ability — just on paper and not knowing health turned himself into a legit National Hockey League player. He’s a guy — they look they have the ability to play with the puck a little bit more, that can do an awful lot of things right now.” and create a little more with the added speed quotient of what they’ve done this far. So two nice adds by Army.” Micheletti, who spent seven seasons with the Blues as a player and coach, added: “I would say they got a really good player. In fact, there’s an argument that he might have been the Rangers’ most consistent forward this past season. Blues fans will like him because he’s a good The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 guy and he’s a hard worker. Just like anybody else, he’s not a ‘perfect’ player, but he does a lot of things really well.” In Saad, a more familiar player now in his 10th NHL season, the Blues have added another quality forward to their top six. The 28-year-old has different attributes than Buchnevich, but he can score, play defense and also help on the penalty kill. Saad has reached the 20-goal plateau five times, including a personal- best 31 with Columbus in 2015-16. But he’s better known for his seven seasons with Chicago, where he scored 114 of his 184 regular-season goals and was part of two Stanley Cup championships in 2013 and 2015. “He’s very much a difference-maker,” Olczyk said. “He’s a solid two-way player and a guy that’s won before and he can still get up and down the ice. I think, for sure, he’s going to help the Blues.” Olczyk, who watched Saad play perhaps the best hockey of his career alongside Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, could easily see him on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron or with the Blues’ other newcomer. “I look at it and say, ‘You could go Saad-(Brayden) Schenn-Buchnevich,” Olczyk said. “I look at that line and say, ‘Geez, you’ve got something there.’ He can ride the flank of any top-two (center) and be really effective.” Olczyk even pointed out the possibility of playing Saad with Robert Thomas in the middle and Buchnevich on the right. “If you can have Thomas step up and be the second-line center, then all of a sudden, Thomas can skate, Buchnevich can skate, and Saad has done that his whole career — straight-ahead hockey,” he said. “I think they’ve improved their foot speed, and I think they’ve upgraded their ability to push people back.” As Quinn indicated with Buchnevich, Olczyk said that Saad can also be counted on as a net-front player. “He does go to the front of the net, he does,” Olczyk said. “Look, it depends who you’re playing with, too. It’s hard to be the guy that digs the pucks in the corners, battles, gets the puck to the point and then works their way to the front of the net. So depending on the makeup of your team, you can get in on the forecheck and make one little bump and drift to the front of the net. He’s a guy that certainly knows when to get there and has the ability to want to get there.” Brandon Saad, left, played seven seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and won the Stanley Cup twice. (Eric Bolte / USA Today) Defensively for Saad, the numbers have been a little more sobering the past three or four years than they were earlier in his career. In Colorado last season, despite being on the ice for far more shot attempts and scoring chances than the opposition at five-on-five, the goals for and against were nearly identical (29-28). “He’s learned over time that sometimes you’re just going to have to go out there and kill the clock as a forward,” Olczyk said. “You’re just going to have to go out there and be responsible. You might not be involved offensively in a shift or two. You’ve got to get something accomplished when you’re out there and it’s OK to take up space and not give up anything.” In St. Louis, Saad could return to his penalty-killing duties, which he had in Chicago but not with Colorado last season. Granted, the Avalanche’s PK ranked No. 8 in the NHL, but in 44 games, he had just 5:17 of ice time on the PK all season. 1191350 Tampa Bay Lightning

Sonya Bryson-Kirksey, battling COVID, moves out of ICU

By Mari Faiello Published Yesterday Updated Yesterday

TAMPA — Sonya Bryson-Kirksey took a step in the right direction Wednesday morning. The Lightning’s U.S. national anthem singer, who has been hospitalized since July 16 battling the coronavirus, was moved out of the intensive care unit after her fever broke, according to close family friend Thomas Schooley. A week after she was moved into the ICU, Bryson-Kirksey is back in a regular hospital room working on her breathing and lungs, Schooley told the Tampa Bay Times in a text message. Bryson-Kirksey, 54, was hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia four days following the Lightning’s Stanley Cup boat parade. The Lightning community has rallied around Bryson-Kirksey, setting up a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $18,500 and designing a T-shirt with proceeds going toward the fundraiser. Bryson-Kirksey, who has been singing the U.S. national anthem before Lightning games at Amalie Arena for eight seasons, was fully vaccinated in March. But underlying health conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, made her more susceptible to the virus. Soon after she was admitted to the hospital, encouraged others to get vaccinated. “Implore people not to let their pride stand in the way of getting vaccinated,” she said, “to protect the people like me who really can’t fight for themselves.” Florida on Saturday set a coronavirus daily case record, according to CDC data, with 21,683 new cases, the highest one-day total since the pandemic began. The state also leads the nation in kids hospitalized with the coronavirus.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191351 Toronto Maple Leafs Longtime NHL centre Butch Goring, who had coached Chynoweth for three seasons with the AHL’s Capital District Islanders, offered him a spot as an assistant on his bench with the IHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Why the Maple Leafs hired Dean Chynoweth as assistant coach: ‘He Dean found it easy to relate to players in the minors. Having seen his doesn’t accept the status quo’ career as a highly touted high pick not pan out, he’d been in their position. More than anything, Jeff believes it was the conversations with the young players, unsure of the next steps in their careers, which inspired him. By Joshua Kloke “The bug bit him,” said Jeff. Aug 4, 2021 He had a four-season stint with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds and began coaching with Canada’s under-18 and under-20 teams before Dale Weise was just five days into his time with the WHL’s Swift Current settling in to help rebuild the Broncos as head coach. Broncos when he got what he calls “the Dean Chynoweth experience.” “Word of his character had travelled throughout the WHL,” said Broncos Weise was 17 when he was traded to the Broncos and believed he was assistant coach Dave Hunchak, “and his passion for the game.” playing well through two games before Chynoweth made him a healthy Both men wanted heavy players who could bring a physical presence on scratch for the next game. Normally, assistant coaches put scratches the ice. Off the ice, Chynoweth only wanted players with “high character,” through the paces on the ice but it was Chynoweth, the head coach, according to Hunchak. Chynoweth and Hunchak would need those types introducing Weise to his brand of hockey. of players to take on the rebuild, which proved to be one of the more “He absolutely bagged me,” said Weise. “That set the tone.” important experiences of Chynoweth’s early career. Weise believed his skill alone would take him through junior hockey. But The Broncos were bad — really bad — during Chynoweth’s first season. as he skated the length of the ice again and again, he believed They defended well, perhaps to be expected from a team run by a Chynoweth, hired on July 12 as assistant coach of the Maple Leafs, defenceman, but they managed to score just 135 goals in 72 games, wanted more from him. worst in the league and 19 below the next team. His suspicions were confirmed after the bag skate as they sat together Hunchak watched Chynoweth gain valuable experience in the art of on the bench in the Centennial Civic Centre, and Chynoweth told Weise staying patient. He thought the head coach, raised in a time when he was the player he had coveted in the trade. continued losses were generally followed by tongue-lashings, would treat young players harshly. But instead, Chynoweth spoke clearly in his “The way he developed me as a player, he was extremely hard on me. instruction and focused on the positives with that sense of patience. He forced me to be better. He made me earn everything. That set me up for so many things as I turned pro. I could handle adversity and being “He knows what he wants to get done,” said Hunchak, “but he senses the held accountable,” said Weise. group and their ability to communicate” After 513 NHL games, Weise credits both the accountability Chynoweth After that first season, Swift Current’s winning percentage rose in the demanded and his upfront communication for getting him there. next three seasons, and Chynoweth’s teams did not miss the playoffs. “He’s the most impactful person I’ve had in my whole career by far,” said “You couldn’t try to pull the wool over his eyes”: No excuses Weise. “I literally owe the world to him.” Scott Gordon couldn’t help but smile when he answered his phone in That accountability and communication, along with his experience, are 2009 and heard it was Chynoweth calling. The two men were familiar what could make Chynoweth a fit for a Leafs team trying to take the next with each other after Gordon coached Chynoweth during his final stint as step and finally experience playoff success. a player with the IHL’s Quebec Rafales. “The bug bit him”: Having experience in spades After the 2008-09 season with Swift Current, Chynoweth wanted to pick Gordon’s brain about coaching in professional hockey. Little did he know Jeff Chynoweth fondly remembers many nights at the dinner table with that Chynoweth was on a shortlist of possible assistant coaches Gordon his brother, Dean, and his father, Ed. was considering after being named head coach of the New York Islanders. Ed, the longtime president of the WHL, would return from work and after hearing about his children’s respective days, the two sons would always Gordon wanted an assistant coach to run his defence who had played quiz their father: what happened with a highly touted young player? Why defence professionally, but more importantly, possessed “a certain did one team have success and another didn’t? temperament” around his players. “It was like going to school at night, given the things you learn,” said Jeff “He played with some edge. I always found his personality to be very Chynoweth, now general manager of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. “We even-keeled, but at the same time, you couldn’t try to pull the wool over had the best teacher right under our roof.” his eyes,” said Gordon. Those conversations likely turned Dean on to the idea of coaching one Gordon didn’t want a coach who took excuses easily. He thought of day and began providing him with a lifetime of experience evident to Chynoweth, whose pro hockey experience had run the gamut from being those around him. Per Maple Leafs policy, Chynoweth was not made a first-round pick to finishing his career in the minors. available to be interviewed for this story. Having been through the wringer in his career was something Gordon Jeff believes every trait that others reference in his brother, from his thought would help Chynoweth behind the bench. strong work ethic to his honest, straightforward communication style, was instilled by Ed. “You weren’t going to bullshit him, in the simplest term,” said Gordon. “Dad would always say ‘You win with class, you lose with class,’” said It didn’t take long after the phone call for Gordon to welcome Chynoweth Jeff. “Dean and I have built our career on what we learned from our to the Islanders. father.” In his three seasons playing for Chynoweth with the Islanders, Matt Dean took those values into his own game. As a no-nonsense blueliner, Moulson saw him emerge as the NHL assistant coach Gordon hoped he he was a first-round pick of the New York Islanders in 1987 and would would become. If a player lagged behind in practice, he heard about it spend 10 seasons bouncing up and down from the Islanders, the Bruins from Chynoweth. If there were excuses in video sessions, he would shut and the minors. them down. Injuries, including concussions, piled up, and he was forced to watch “Sometimes you get coaches that maybe will give you the easy way out. more games than he would have liked from the press box. Dean is definitely not one of those guys. He’ll let you know when he thinks you’re not bringing your best. I think everyone in the world could It was then that Jeff noticed his brother “following things a little closer,” use that at some point in their career,” said Moulson. “When you get and their conversations veered toward the observations he made. coaches like that, you know there’s not going to be an easy day. There’s Concussions ultimately ended his career at 30. But toward the end of his no lollygagging through anything, be it practice or games.” career, he became, in Jeff’s estimation, a “student of the game.” And so with Chynoweth, the Leafs appear to have found an assistant coach who will demand a certain work ethic that suggests management and Sheldon Keefe believe was sometimes lacking. That could end up benefitting the Leafs, who looked to have taken their And though it was something of a high-risk, high-reward approach, it foot off the gas at some inopportune times last season, most notably translated into scoring chances for the Hurricanes. Per Natural Stat Trick, Game 7 of their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens. they led the league in xGF percentage (25.75 percent) while shorthanded. “When you sit down with a player, sometimes their guard can go up,” said Gordon. “There’s so much video now, players have the opportunity For a Leafs team that might not feature much scoring punch outside of to watch their mistakes and come up with reasons why things happened. the top two lines, finding offensive opportunities elsewhere may end up If you’re going to sell a bill of goods to Dean, he’s going to see through being a boon if Chynoweth can get his strategy to work in Toronto. that.” Jeff Chynoweth believes his brother Dean will help make things work in “He loved to talk about things”: Being open to a conversation Toronto. He wasn’t surprised when he saw the way the Hurricanes played shorthanded this season nor was he surprised, given all his After the Islanders fired Chynoweth in 2012 after three seasons outside experience, when he was hired by the Leafs. of the playoffs, Chynoweth spent four seasons head coaching in the AHL: three seasons with the Lake Erie Monsters and one with the San “He doesn’t accept the status quo,” said Jeff. “He wants to learn and get Antonio Rampage. better.” Jock Callander, his assistant with Lake Erie, thought Chynoweth’s experience was evident. Chynoweth constantly wanted to share what he had learned in his coaching career, and how his thought process might The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 have changed along the way. He didn’t make a decision without consulting those around him, and never stopped asking questions and trying to garner different opinions. They’d debate the practicality of different systems, with Chynoweth always reminding Callander he could learn from his mistakes. “Some coaches, it’s their decision. But he loved to talk about things, and he wasn’t offended if you believed something different,” said Callander. Callander was surprised by the level of honesty Chynoweth took with his players. It was an approach, he learned, that worked for Chynoweth in New York. Defenceman Jack Hillen was one player Chynoweth worked with closely during his two seasons in New York. Chynoweth was a rarity in that he was a coach Hillen felt he could actually open up with. “I remember his kids’ names. He worked to build a relationship with you. And that’s tough to do in pro hockey with so many people coming and going,” said Hillen. The result was Hillen feeling far more comfortable going to Chynoweth for input on how to better implement his systems. “The better relationship you can have, the more honest feedback you’ll get in terms of ‘This is where you stand, this is your role, this is what you need to work, this is what you’re doing well.’ Dean possessed a lot of those qualities,” said Hillen. On a Leafs team that could feature young defencemen like Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren possibly playing their first full NHL seasons as well as a variety of new penalty killers, that communication style makes sense. “As a young guy coming in, he was able to be patient with me for the first little bit,” said Andrew Agozzino, a Senators forward who played for Chynoweth in Lake Erie. There was far more communication than Agozzino expected from Chynoweth as the head coach employed a hands-on approach with video and on-ice sessions. That ended up helping Agozzino. “When you’re younger, you can lose your way a little bit,” said Agozzino. As the conversations increased, so too did the responsibility Chynoweth would dole out, from ice time to different special teams responsibilities. The coach had learned the best approach with players was not just to direct them, but to have discussions and weigh player feedback into decision-making. “It was a great way to get to know guys,” said Agozzino, “and find out what makes them tick.” “He doesn’t accept the status quo”: The “Power Kill” Chynoweth’s ability to change his approach perhaps garnered the most eyeballs with the Carolina Hurricanes. After returning to the NHL ahead of the 2018-19 season as an assistant tasked with the Hurricanes’ defencemen and penalty kill, he eventually helped develop what some have dubbed the “power kill.” This season, the Hurricanes penalty kill finished third in the league by killing off 85.2 percent of opposition power plays. The Leafs were 24th in the league at 78.5 percent. Chynoweth’s strategy saw the Canes becomes incredibly active with their pressure on opponents to break up zone entries and strip pucks. 1191352 Vegas Golden Knights

Marc-Andre Fleury says trade from Golden Knights ‘a little surprising’

By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal August 4, 2021 - 3:01 PM

Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t look any different when he hopped on a Zoom call Wednesday. He had the same charming grin, humble tone and sense of humor that has made the 36-year-old goaltender a franchise icon twice in his Hall of Fame career. Only this time, he was representing a third team. Fleury had his first media availability as a Chicago Blackhawk on Wednesday, more than a week after he was traded by the Golden Knights. He said the move was “a little surprising” but that he’s ready to get to work with a new team after taking time to think about his future. “(It’s been) a little bit crazy,” Fleury said. “I’m very fortunate that (Chicago general manager) Stan (Bowman) gave me some time to reflect on what I want to do, what was best for me and my family. I’m excited now. I’m excited to make the move and try to help the Blackhawks.” Fleury, who won the Vezina Trophy last season, was the Knights’ heart and soul after joining the team in the 2017 expansion draft. But general manager Kelly McCrimmon thought the organization needed to trade him for salary cap relief and because Robin Lehner — who formed a Jennings Trophy-winning tandem with Fleury last season — was capable of being the No. 1 goalie. McCrimmon said he had several conversations with Fleury throughout the offseason and informed him that Chicago was interested weeks before the trade happened. Fleury, who had never been traded in his career, said he still was caught a little off guard. He said his agent, Allan Walsh, called to tell him he had been traded after the news leaked on social media but before it was finalized. McCrimmon said he doesn’t tell players they have been traded until the deal is on record with the NHL in case there’s a last-minute snag. “There’s just a process that you have to go through in terms of the timing of that,” McCrimmon said after the deal. Other than releasing a statement thanking his Knights teammates and fans, Fleury didn’t talk on the record until Wednesday. Walsh said on the day of the trade that his client would “seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time.” Fleury decided to play for Chicago and announced his decision Sunday. He and his wife toured the city to get a feel for it. And he talked with players who had played in Chicago, such as former NHL goalie Cam Ward and ex-teammates Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams. “I never had anything against Chicago, the organization,” Fleury said. “It was just me personally, what I wanted to do. I’ve talked to a bunch of guys. I keep hearing so many great things about the team, how they treat their players and families.” Fleury is joining a team that finished 20th in points percentage last season but has made several offseason moves. Along with adding Fleury, the Blackhawks acquired defenseman Seth Jones and signed him to an eight-year extension, traded for two-time Stanley Cup-winning center Tyler Johnson and signed free agent defenseman Jake McCabe. The moves could give franchise icons Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane another winning window with two years remaining on each player’s contract. “What we’re hoping for is a competitive team that pushes for the playoffs,” Bowman said. It will be a new situation for Fleury, who leaves a Stanley Cup favorite in the Knights but takes a throng of memories with him. “Coming to Vegas, I didn’t know if people were going to like hockey or come to the games and support us,” Fleury said. “(I’ll remember) having success with the team, winning games, going deep in the playoffs, especially that first season, making it to the Final. … I’ve been very fortunate to spend four years there.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191353 Vegas Golden Knights

Get to know the Vegas Golden Knights’ latest additions

By Justin Emerson (contact) Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Thorny dilemma: How are fans supposed to feel about the Golden Knights parting ways with Flower? The Golden Knights were busy last week, using the cap space gained in the Marc-André Fleury trade to shore up their offense, while also securing Fleury’s replacement. The biggest addition was Evgenii Dadonov, a winger who scored 81 goals in a three-year span a few years ago. Coupled with the surprise return of Mattias Janmark and earlier offseason trades for Nolan Patrick and Brett Howden, the Golden Knights are poised to have perhaps the deepest forward core in team history. “I think this is the best top-nine forwards that our organization has had,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said after the moves. “And I think this is the best group of forwards collectively that our team has had.” But just who are these players? Get to know the newest Golden Knights. • Evgenii Dadonov: The Russian winger could be the antidote to Vegas’ scoring ills. Despite a down year in Ottawa, in which he scored 13 goals in 55 games—none on the power play—he was a consistent 25-plus-goal scorer the previous three years in Florida. He posted 11 power-play goals two years ago, matched in Golden Knights history only by Erik Haula in 2017-18. Dadonov struggled adjusting to a new system in Ottawa, explaining that being away from his family because of Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions might have played a part in that. He joins a stacked group of wingers in Vegas, where he’ll try to return to his goal- scoring ways and boost a stagnant power play. • Nolan Patrick: McCrimmon, the former owner and coach of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings, is taking a chance on his former junior star. Patrick was taken second by the Flyers in Vegas’ inaugural draft (Cody Glass, for whom Patrick was just traded, went four picks later in that draft), but Patrick has struggled in the NHL, including missing the entire 2019-20 season with migraine issues. Vegas will hope a change of scenery can restore his potential. • Laurent Brossoit: The Golden Knights will pay their new backup goalkeeper $2.325 million per year—and McCrimmon has indicated the days of one netminder playing 60 or more games in a season were likely over—so don’t expect Brossoit to be limited to a few games per month behind Robin Lehner. He’ll likely play around a third of the games, a role in which he posted a solid .913 save percentage in three years as Winnipeg’s backup. • Brett Howden: Howden has never quite put it together in three NHL seasons. His point totals weren’t bad (23 and 19) in his first two years, but he cratered to seven last year without providing a major boost defensively. He’s still 23, however, and Vegas has shown a knack for getting the most out of players who previously struggled elsewhere (see: Karlsson, William and Stephenson, Chandler).

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 08.05.2021 1191354 Washington Capitals Hutton is only 28 and entering his prime which is a plus for a team that is already one of the oldest in the NHL. If you can find an addition who is not just a 35+ journeyman, that's a win. Free agent targets remain if Caps are looking for bargain deals In 2021, Hutton played on a one-year $950,000 contract. This is definitely a guy who, the longer the offseason drags on, the more his NHL career appears in jeopardy. That means I believe he could be signed to a "prove it" type deal for even less than that $950,000 cap hit. BY J.J. REGAN If the Caps find themselves in need of someone who can play on the third pair and step into top four minutes as needed, Hutton is not that CAPITALS guy, but he can be a cheap, reliable bottom-pair defenseman. The initial free agent frenzy is over, but that does not mean there are no Luca Sbisa players of any value left to sign. The Capitals are a team with Stanley In terms of defense the analytics are...not great, but there is value to a Cup aspirations, but very little money to play with and that could mean player like Sbisa for a Caps team that just lost its two biggest players on going bargain shopping is the way to go to bolster the roster. the blue line. Let's not forget, the Caps did not sign Conor Sheary until Dec. 22 and With no Dillon and no Chara, who is going to push players out of the Zdeno Chara until Dec. 30 in 2020 so general manager Brian MacLellan crease and defend the net front for Washington next year? It's slim is not afraid to sit and wait for the asking price of players to drop. pickings. That's a role the 6-foot-3, 204-pound Sbisa can fill, even if he In all likelihood, I think the roster is set and any holes the team still has can't do much else. will be filled internally. But, if MacLellan were still looking at the free Center agent market, what would he look for and who is still available? Alex Galchenyuk Left defense would seem to be the priority. As of now, the Caps are replacing Brenden Dillon and Zdeno Chara with Michal Kempny -- who Galchenyuk will probably be out of the Caps' price range, but a player will be returning from a second major injury as he did not play at all in who has gone from being the third-overall draft pick to playing for six 2021 -- and Martin Fehervary -- a prospect with six NHL games of NHL teams and is now unsigned while looking for his seventh team, you experience. have to wonder if desperation may make him affordable. Assistant coach Kevin McCarthy strongly prefers to play players on their Galchenyuk is young at only 27 and productive. He will never live up to shooting side and the Caps have just three left defensemen on the roster the expectations of where he was drafted, but neither will Brett Connolly, with Dmitry Orlov, Kempny and Fehervary (assuming Fehervary makes and look how well that worked out for Washington. Seems like he would the NHL roster this season which is likely). That means not only do be worth the risk if the Caps could get him for cheap. Kempny and Fehervary look poised for everyday roles, one of them is going to have to play in the top four. Brad Richardson A second need would be center depth. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas We are just two years removed from a 19-goal season for Richardson. Backstrom, Lars Eller and Nic Dowd are a deep center core, but if any of Granted, he is now 36 and a player can deteriorate rapidly at that age those players get hurt, there's no great solution for how to replace him. over the course of two years so no one should expect that kind of season from him going forward. In terms of depth, however, you have to think Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas need more time in the AHL to there is more left in the tank. develop, I project Beck Malenstyn to be a winger in the NHL and Brian Pinho is an AHL caliber player. MacLellan has expressed interest in No one watched the Caps last season and thought this team needed to getting Garrett Pilon playing time this season, but he is a player with zero add another player in his mid-30s, but as a fifth center who would not be NHL experience and, again, this is a team with Cup aspirations. expected to play every night, Richardson is a decent choice and one who could surprise with his production if given a chance. He has produced 11 What's not an area of need is goalie. That's not a position worth or more points in three of the last four seasons. considering after the team traded for Vitek Vanecek back from the Seattle Kraken. With Ilya Samsonov as a restricted free agent, Dominik Kahun Washington is locked into a Samsonov, Vanecek tandem. Kahun has 83 points in 186 NHL games, he is a good two-way player Left defensemen and looks like a decent third-line center. Yet, he has been traded twice, was not qualified by Buffalo in 2020, was exposed by Edmonton in the A quick caveat on left defensemen, if this is a route the Caps want to go, expansion draft but was not taken, and has now been left unqualified I think it means trading away a defenseman off the roster. If you add again. That's a definite red flag. But if the Caps do their homework on Fehervary to the NHL roster, the Caps have seven defensemen and only Kahun, this would be a solid signing. Kahun could plug into the third line approximately $2.6 million worth of cap room, not including Samsonov and even higher in limited minutes when needed. He would not just be a who remains unsigned. Trying to add an eighth defenseman is a luxury fourth-line stand-in. the Caps cannot afford. Considering the journeyman career Kahun has had already at 26, he With that in mind, here are some possible targets: may want a solid paycheck and some security (meaning term), but beggars can't be choosers and this is the kind of player who is getting Zdeno Chara squeezed by the flat cap. At some point, he is going to have to take This is the obvious one. If you need a left defenseman, why not just bring what's being offered. Why not go for it, if you are the Caps? Chara back? He averaged over 18 minutes per game last season, seemed to have good chemistry with Nick Jensen and also played well with Justin Schultz and John Carlson when injuries forced him higher in Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.05.2021 the lineup. Yes, he seemed to run out of gas a bit in the postseason, but at 44 years old, I think it would be reasonable to play him in fewer games this season to account for that. The only issue here is that you can't have Chara take playing time away from Fehervary. While he looked good last season, a 44-year-old Chara should not be taking playing time from a 21-year-old Fehervary who the general manager specifically named as being ready for the NHL next season. Ben Hutton Hutton has shown he can be decent when not overused so I would not bring him in expecting him to be anything more than a third-pair player. Then again, we are talking about bargain shopping so don't expect to find anyone who will be in contention for the Norris next season. 1191355 Winnipeg Jets

Stanley agrees to two-year deal with Jets

Mike McIntyre 8/4/2021

Logan Stanley is a big part of the Winnipeg Jets future, both literally and figuratively. And now the 6-7, 228-pound defenceman has earned himself a new two-year contract and a slight raise in the process. Logan Stanley is a big part of the Winnipeg Jets future, both literally and figuratively. And now the 6-7, 228-pound defenceman has earned himself a new two-year contract and a slight raise in the process. Stanley, 23, will make US$800,000 in 2021-22, and US$1 million in 2022-23, for an average annual value of US$900,000. He was a restricted free agent this summer, coming out of his entry-level contract which paid him US$832,000 per season. The 18th-overall pick in 2016 is coming off an impressive rookie campaign in the NHL in which he played 37 regular-season games and eight playoff games. Stanley had three goals, four assists and 30 penalty minutes, leading the Jets in plus-minus. Winnipeg was afraid of losing him in the expansion draft last month, opting to protect him and leaving defenceman Dylan DeMelo exposed. The Seattle Kraken ultimately selected forward Mason Appleton. Winnipeg still has three remaining RFAs to sign — forward Andrew Copp and defenceman Neal Pionk with the big club, and defenceman Jonathan Kovacevic with the Manitoba Moose. Pionk and Copp have elected for salary arbitration, with hearings scheduled between Aug. 11-26 if new deals can't be reached by then. In other Jets news on Wednesday, the team announced a series of new jersey numbers. Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois will switch from No. 13 to No. 80 in honour of former Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Matiss Kivlenieks, who died last month in a tragic fireworks accident. Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu will move from No. 88 to No. 28. That allows Nate Schmidt, acquired last week in a trade with Vancouver, to wear his familiar No. 88. Other new adds include defenceman Brenden Dillon wearing No. 5, forward Riley Nash No. 20, forward Austin Poganski No. 22, forward Mikey Eyssimont No. 23 and forward Luke Johnson No. 47. Poganski, Eyssimont and Johnson were all signed for depth with the Jets, but could also spend time on the farm with the Moose. Goalie Mikhail Berdin, who is expected to be the starter for the Moose, will switch from No. 60 to No. 30.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 08.05.2021 1191356 Winnipeg Jets not a lot of fun going to a hearing where your employer lists off all the reasons you shouldn't be paid what you think you're worth.

Additionally, Copp's arbitration award would be for one year, walking him Jets face difficult task in keeping Copp and Pionk straight into unrestricted free agency next summer. The Jets would have to move him or risk losing him for nothing in return. I suppose, given their "all-in" mentality right now, they could simply treat him as their own one- year rental, but that would still involve finding a way to make his salary fit Mike McIntyre under the US$81.5 million cap. 8/4/2021 Any trade would have to be with the main goal of shedding salary in the process, which has become a common theme around the league these days. For proof, see reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury Their agents may be borrowing a phrase from Jerry Maguire and essentially being given to Chicago for absolutely nothing in return, other shouting "Show me the money" at Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin than the necessary cap space Vegas needed. Cheveldayoff given the impressive seasons they just had. It's worth noting the US$10.2 million figure for Pionk and Copp involves But the cold, hard reality is that Andrew Copp and Neal Pionk are likely the Jets going with a 22-man roster (rather than the maximum of 23) and going to have to take ones for the team and accept less than their accounts for Bryan Little once again being placed on long-term injured perceived value this summer if the current, cash-strapped group is to reserve, which allows the Jets to essentially spend his US$5.291 million remain intact. Otherwise, prepare for some painfully necessary roster salary beyond the cap ceiling. surgery before the puck drops on a promising new campaign this fall. The number also doesn't include depth defenceman Nathan Beaulieu, By my rough estimates (more on that later), the Jets have a maximum of who would have to be traded or buried in the minors so his US$1.25 US$10.2 million to get Copp and Pionk, both restricted free agents who million comes off the books. Nor does it account for Ville Heinola, Dylan have elected for binding arbitration later this month, under contract for Samberg, Cole Perfetti or David Gustafsson, whose entry level deals all 2021-22. That's going to be a tough task — perhaps downright pay slightly more (between US$817,500 and US$925,000) than the likes impossible — given their current market value. of Sami Niku, Jansen Harkins, Riley Nash, Dominic Toninato and Luke Johnson, who all make either US$725,000 (the league minimum) or Pionk's worth is likely in the US$6-7 million per season range. Only 13 US$750,000. defencemen have put up more points than his 77 (in 125 games) over the past two years. A guy well behind him on that list, Zach Werenski (61 Swap in Beaulieu, any of those young players and/or a 23rd skater and points in 98 games) just signed a six-year extension with Columbus that there's even less money to play with. And, for those who have asked, this will pay him nearly US$9.5 million per year. Another guy in the rear-view is why the Jets are going to go with Eric Comrie as the backup goalie to mirror, Darnell Nurse (69 points in 127 games), is said to be working on a Connor Hellebuyck. They simply couldn't afford to allocate another penny new deal with Edmonton for a similar salary. to that position than the US$750,000 Comrie will make. Yes, the price for offensive defencemen has shot up this summer, and In a perfect world, Pionk and Copp will both continues to be key pieces that sound you hear is Cheveldayoff muttering under his breath at the on a team that is built for success, with Schmidt and Brenden Dillon bloody timing of it all. acquired in big trades last week to boost the blue line, Stastny re-signed for another year to complement an already rock-solid forward core and Copp's ask is believed to be in the US$5-5.5 million per season range, several bright young prospects in the pipeline. which also strikes me as reasonable. He's arguably Winnipeg's most versatile forward, a guy who can be a shutdown checker, a key penalty Unfortunately, showing both players the money might mean having to killer, a power-play producer, a winger or a centreman. He put up career show someone the door. highs of 15 goals and 24 assists in 55 games last year. Like Pionk, he's also a well-respected voice and locker-room leader. He's also a homegrown drafted and developed talent, which is no small Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 08.05.2021 thing around here. Considering the Jets have bid farewell to a few of those in recent years, including Jacob Trouba, Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, they definitely don't want to add Copp's name to the list. The problem for Cheveldayoff is he can't simply hand over a blank cheque to both in this pandemic-caused flat cap era, which is why deals have yet to be reached and arbitration is now on the horizon, with hearings to be scheduled between Aug. 11-26 if new deals can't be reached by then. The good news is such a move means there will soon be finality to these matters, as they won't drag through training camp or the start of the season. The bad news is there's no guarantee of a happy ending for all parties. The Jets will no doubt argue Pionk and Copp's numbers may dip going forward. In Pionk's case, he may see less power play time given the off- season addition of Nate Schmidt. Josh Morrissey (who makes US$6.25 million per season, with less offensive production than Pionk) will likely man the other unit. In Copp's case, cracking the top six as he often did last year is going to be a lot tougher with all of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Paul Stastny still in the fold. A number of NHL defenceman with less-impressive stats than Neal Pionk have signed impressive contracts this off season. One way to keep the average annual value (AAV) down is to give more term, which we've seen already this summer with the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (eight years, US$41.5 million) and Zach Hyman (seven years, US$38.5 million) both inking deals in Edmonton. Copp hasn't produced at the same offensive clip as those two players, which no doubt the Jets would use as leverage during their bargaining. The risk, of course, is giving too much term so that it ultimately comes back to bite you as the player ultimately regresses. A bit of damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. While a Pionk arbitration hearing wouldn't be ideal, Copp getting to that stage would be catastrophic. He is as good as gone if that occurs. No player has ever gone through the process twice, and Copp admits doing it two summers ago left him with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. It's 1191357 Winnipeg Jets first win. I thought it was tragic that No. 80 wouldn’t have a 10-year career in the NHL, or however long you’d think he’d play.

“I just wanted to keep his legacy growing. I just wanted to keep the No. Jets' Dubois to honour fallen friend, former teammate with number switch 80, because he’s not here to wear it, I want to wear it for him. It’s the number I want for the rest of my career now.”

The legacy Kivlenieks left was one that always came with a smile, Dubois Scott Billeck said. Publishing date:Aug 04, 2021 From their first rookie camp tournament together to doing drills that goalies normally hate — taking one-timers from the hash marks, for instance — Kivlenieks always did it with a grin. Winnipeg Jets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois was on the ice when goaltender “He’d stay out there. He wouldn’t complain. There was always a smile on Matiss Kivlenieks made his first NHL start, under the bright lights at his face,” Dubois said. Madison Square Garden and next season, Dubois will wear No. 80 in honour of his friend. By donning No. 80, Dubois hopes to honour his friend’s smile, on the back of his jersey, for the rest of his career. Back on Jan. 19, 2020, Dubois was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kivlenieks, who had been called up and sent back down several times throughout the 2019-20 season, was finally getting his shot against the New York Rangers. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 08.05.2021 Dubois had an assist as the Blue Jackets beat the Rangers 2-1 and Kivlenieks, was a wall between the pipes, stopping 31-of-32 shots he faced. His first start, his first win. That resulted in pandemonium inside the Blue Jackets dressing room, following the game. “Not everybody is best friends on a team, but you have to respect everybody,” Dubois told the Winnipeg Sun over the phone on Wednesday. “Even the guys who weren’t necessarily best friends with Matiss, when he won that game, it was like everyone was his best friend.” Kivlenieks was among the former teammates Dubois was planning on sending text messages to prior to heading back to Columbus for the second weekend in July. Traded to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic last January, Dubois was going to Columbus to pick up the last few possessions that remained in the city where he started his NHL career. He had booked his plane ticket — it would be a quick jaunt there and back with just enough time to hang out with whomever was around for one night. “I knew (goalie) Elvis (Merzlikins) was there, (forward Oliver) Bjorkstrand, Matiss,” Dubois said. On July 4, the Independence Day holiday in the United States, tragedy struck. Kivlenieks was fatally injured after a firework malfunctioned at the home of Blue Jackets goalie coach Manny Legace in Michigan. He was just 24. “It was the first time in my life, a friend, someone so young, abruptly just passed away,” Dubois said. “One of the quotes from one of my friends was, ‘Death is never convenient. Even if you can prepare for it for a year.’” Dubois was at the gym, training, when he got a call from his dad — Manitoba Moose assistant coach Eric Dubois — asking him if he had heard the news about Kivlenieks. Dubois hadn’t at that point, but figured it could be that his friend was traded or had signed a new contract or got injured somehow. “You don’t really think of a young, healthy person (dying),” Dubois said. “I was just in shock. Denial. I didn’t want to think it was real.” This past month has been a tough one, Dubois said. He attended Kivlenieks’ funeral on July 15. And while he couldn’t make sense of the tragic events that claimed the life of a good friend, Dubois knew he wanted to do something — even if he didn’t know what — to honour the Latvian. Dubois, who wore No. 18 with the Blue Jackets and No. 13 in his first season with the Jets, wanted a number with a deeper meaning to himself. So on Wednesday, a month to the day since Kivlenieks died, the Jets’ centre made a change that will honour his fallen friend — switching his jersey number to 80, the number Kivlenieks wore for the Blue Jackets. “One of the sad parts of it was he was just at the beginning of his NHL career,” Dubois said. “I was there for his first game. I was there for his 1191358 Winnipeg Jets

Jets sign promising blue-liner Stanley to two-year deal with $900,000 AAV

Ted Wyman Publishing date:Aug 04, 2021

After making moves to acquire two solid, but expensive, NHL defencemen last week, the Winnipeg Jets signed a promising blue-liner to an economical bridge deal Wednesday. The Jets signed defenceman Logan Stanley, who had a good rookie seasons in 2021, to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $900,000. For a team that could be heading into some salary cap trouble after picking up defencemen Nate Schmidt ($5.9 million AAV) and Brenden Dillon ($3.9 million AVV) and still needing to sign restricted free agent Neal Pionk, the Stanley deal makes good sense. Stanley surprised many people, including the Jets’ coaching staff, by making the team out of training camp last January. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound blue-liner quickly found himself in the lineup and handled himself well, showing toughness, decent puck-moving ability and a big shot from the blue-line. He had a goal and four points in 37 regular season games and added two goals and an assist in eight playoff games. Drafted in the first round (18th overall) in 2016, Stanley took a while to become an NHL player, playing two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and two more in the American Hockey League, with the Manitoba Moose, before making his debut with the Jets. Recognizing his unique blend of size and skill, the Jets protected Stanley in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, exposing veteran Dylan DeMelo instead. Fortunately for them, DeMelo was not selected by the Kraken, as the expansion team opted to take forward Mason Appleton instead. Stanley, who impressed coaches with his off-season training regiment before last season, is projected to be a part of the Jets top-six defencemen in 2021-22.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 08.05.2021 1191359 Vancouver Canucks His long career of getting to know people came into play. He had played collegiate hockey with Ryan Johnson, GM of the Abbotsford Canucks, at North Dakota. Well-travelled Jeff Ulmer brings a global view to Abbotsford coaching “He was a year ahead of me. So I’ve known him since, I mean, since we staff were teenagers,” he said. Another teammate during his first season as a pro with the Houston Aeros of the defunct International Hockey League was Trent Cull, who Patrick Johnston happens to now be Abbotsford’s head coach. Publishing date:Aug 04, 2021 “I got along with Trent really well. He was a little bit older than I was and he’d been a few years or so in the pros. It was my first year pro that I played with him, but he got to see kind of what I was like as a teammate,” There are hockey vagabonds — and then there’s Jeff Ulmer. said Ulmer. Ulmer, hired last month as an assistant coach for the American Hockey But the uncertainty surrounding the AHL’s season last fall, followed by League’s Abbotsford Canucks, has played in more places than just about the decision to split the Canucks’ Utica Comets affiliation with the St. anyone. Louis Blues, meant there wasn’t a job opening for him. Still, Ulmer kept in touch with his old teammates. And that long, meandering, at-times fascinating course makes for someone with coaching ambitions. He stayed home in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his wife and young daughters. He consulted with players in the area and remotely to help them stay fit Beginning with a year of junior hockey with the famed Notre Dame while the NHL remained on hiatus. Hounds in Saskatchewan in 1994-95, the 44-year-old Regina native played for 26 teams — including 21 games for the New York Rangers in “So kind of a coach in that way, and actually I think I gained quite a bit 2000-01 — before retiring as a player in 2018. from doing that one-on-one kind of coaching,” he said. “It was just a different avenue for me to learn, and the one-on-ones with different Needless to say, there’s hardly a hockey culture he hasn’t been exposed players definitely helped.” to. First he chased the North American hockey dream, skating in the International Hockey League, in the AHL and for the old Canadian The Abbotsford job opening came up and Ulmer did a series of national team program, on top of his National Hockey League cup of interviews while the Canucks assessed if he’d be a good fit for their AHL coffee. staff. But from 2003 until he retired in 2018, outside of one season, Ulmer “I even got a call from from Travis Green and some other guys just to played the rest of his career in Europe, playing in well-established chat, and they got to see some ideas that I had and how I thought about hockey cultures like Sweden, Finland, German, Switzerland and Russia, the game and some different ideas, and I guess that all helped,” he said. but also in outposts like Denmark, Scotland, Wales, Slovenia, Belarus It will be the first time Ulmer is a full-on coach, but he said he has no and Austria nerves about what’s to come. After playing, being a coach is what he’s “Like a mercenary,” he chuckled over the phone recently, as he packed always wanted to be. up his house in Arizona in preparation for the move north to B.C. “No, not really, I think I’ve prepared myself almost as good as you can for “For my first five, six, seven years in Europe, whatever it was, I was a first year in coaching with all the playing experience and then a couple single and I was just willing to go anywhere and keep chasing not so years of being on the ice with the Coyotes’ players and dealing with NHL much the highest contract but just the best situation and sometimes that guys,” he said. “You know that first game on the bench there might be brought me to Siberia and then another time to these small towns in some nerves, but I just feel like I’ve spent so much time with players and wherever it be, Switzerland or Sweden or Finland,” he said. “And on a bench myself that it’s second nature.” sometimes it was multiple teams, like I went to Russia but took a buyout, went to Switzerland on a two-month contract, and then I went to MoDo in Sweden all in one season. I was just willing to go anywhere that there Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.05.2021 was good hockey and keep chasing the highest level. “It be some kind of record! And that’s not even just staying in a hotel (for short stints). I was actually getting an address or getting a house or a furnished place and settling in, and then moving on to the next one. It’s a lot of moving parts, but looking back on it, getting to see all these different customs and learning a bit of the languages and stuff like, that was as great an experience that not many people get to do and I’m thankful for each and every one for sure.” That awareness of how each part of the hockey world has a different take will help in the long run, he said. “I think I got a good feel for almost every hockey-playing country, especially the ones I played in, so it helps,” said Ulmer. “I mean, you can relate to guys over here, you see their style of play and you think back to how was it when I played in the league where they’re from and it’s all helped me. “It’s kind of cool. Here (in Arizona) it was skating with Michael Grabner … and we got to talk about Villach (Austria) where he’s from and we talked about the coaches and the rink and all that stuff and he can relate to that. And then with Antti Raanta — I helped out with the goalies, with Corey Schwab and the goalies, sometimes shooting on them before practices — and Raanta was saying, ‘You know, I remember you when you played in my hometown and in Rauma (Finland), I was one of those kids on the glass.’ And I was like wow, you don’t think of it that way but it’s these guys, that may not be quite good enough to play in the NHL and they could be AHLers for a few years and then go over, and they’re looked upon like stars in these guys’ hometowns in Europe, so it’s a cool thing and I got to experience a lot of those, so that was that was special for me.” After retiring, Ulmer joined the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19 as director of player development. But after a change in ownership in the desert and the dismissal of Coyotes GM John Chayka, he found himself looking for a new job. 1191360 Websites Ripley, however, said during the investors call he had buy-in from distributors (cable providers for example).

“We have … clearance, we have the right to do that from the The Athletic / ‘In-game betting but on steroids’: Sinclair’s sports distributors,” Ripley said. “And then in terms of the teams, we do have to broadcast of the future renew, complete our renewals for, for the NHL and NBA and there are a few … there are several teams that on the MLB side which we have to … secure the DTC rights for.” By Daniel Kaplan According to Sinclair’s research, he said, a new streaming service does not eat into the RSN audience in a material way. Distributors would have Aug 4, 2021 to be convinced of that to allow a streaming service. “There’s no question video consumption habits have and are continuing Could some NBA, NHL and MLB games next year be served up akin to a to change, with people opting to consume content outside of traditional Las Vegas sportsbook screen, with changing odds and heavy gamblers linear channels,” Ripley said. “So we need to be able to provide them comped the subscription to the service? with content however and wherever they want to receive it. Having said that, we believe that demand for sports content within the traditional That is the vision at least outlined Wednesday by Chris Ripley, CEO of cable and satellite bundle will continue to be strong, as evidenced by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose Bally Sports Regional Networks are rating strength of local sports that I referenced. In fact, our proprietary negotiating with those leagues to obtain streaming rights for a planned research shows that any cannibalization that DTC product may have on direct-to-consumer (DTC) launch next year. Ripley told investors on an cable and satellite subscribers is expected to be relatively low.” earnings call Wednesday morning the service would be “like in-game betting but on steroids.” Sinclair’s RSNs currently broadcast 42 teams: 14 Sinclair-owned and operated RSN portfolio includes the following 19 in MLB, 16 in the NBA and 12 NHL teams. network brands: Bally Sports Arizona, Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports “For a person who is heavily engaged in sports betting, I envision a Indiana, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports significant amount of income coming from watch-and-play, which is the North, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Oklahoma, Bally Sports San gamification, real-time gamification of a sporting event, where they can Diego, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, play it like a video game,” Ripley said. “They can be having at risk at … Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West and Bally money on the line, positions that are changing … every 10 to 20 Sports Wisconsin. seconds, based on their actions. Bally acquired naming rights for the stations in March. “And, actually, the first we’re working on that experience with Ballys, first up in tennis, tennis, you know, is … set up very, very well to do that. But Increasingly, Sinclair is including equity in its payments to teams in an we’re going to move that same philosophy through MLB, NBA, NHL too, effort to reduce costs and align its interests with the franchises. and … we think that ends up being a very significant revenue driver, not “Ownership was granted to our most recent renewals with the last three only for this enterprise, but we also see a world that you alluded to where MLB teams,” Ripley said. “And, you know, that is a strategy which we’ve people engaged in that type of activity will get subsidized or comped been very open about in terms of substituting cash payments for equity subscriptions from the sportsbooks.” distribution … And we don’t get into … how many teams, which teams Sinclair owns the Tennis Channel. are coming up in the future as a matter of policy, but we tend to have teams coming up every year. And … equity will be part of the mix.” Ripley’s streaming service, let alone one that is gamified, has some rather significant hurdles. In many ways, it is the holy grail sports fans have long sought, the ability to buy a standalone stream of their favorite The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 team divorced from a cable bundle. Even streaming the games through the authenticated cable app is sometimes not possible, so an independent stream might seem almost mythical. The ecosystem of professional sports, even with changing consumption habits, is aligned against it. Teams sell their rights to regional sports channels, which then sell them to cable, satellite and other distributors, who then package the games into a bundle sold to consumers. Contracts are in place each step of the way, so if streaming rights are stripped out, could that upset the proverbial apple cart if the audience migrates? “Sinclair CEO Ripley says they only need 5 percent uptake of their DTC regional sports network service but makes NO mention of how it will impact their carriage deals/relationships with multichannel video distributors who are DYING to drop or tier absurdly expensive RSNs,” media analyst Rich Greenfield tweeted during the earnings call. And he added in another tweet, “Sinclair $SBGI mgmt continuing to pitch their absurd direct-to-consumer regional sports streaming plan says this will mostly appeal to younger viewers Yeah … we’re sure young consumers are excited to pay $25+ for access to local MLB/NHL/NBA games that they aren’t watching.” Sinclair has not said how much a streamed RSN might cost, but the minimum figure floated is $20 per month, with Greenfield putting it at a pricier $25 or more. Media consultant Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive, said the big issue is securing rights from the teams and distributors to stream more than a marginal number of games. “They don’t have all the rights for that,” he said. “For this product to be more than a niche product, they need to have a reasonable amount, a lot of games there; they can gamify them, not gamify them, that doesn’t matter. They need live games in there. “But the truth of the matter is getting to simulcast games that are allocated to the RSNs or even getting exclusive games will require distributor cooperation. The distributors are telling everybody, I mean, they’re telling me, they’re telling reporters, they’re telling everybody they haven’t talked to Sinclair about this. So that’s going to take a while.” 1191361 Websites one from a one-timer in the high slot, another off a wrister in the low slot that cleanly beat Brett Brochu and one that he just exploded into the net).

Carolina Hurricanes The Athletic / Team Canada summer showcase: U18 standouts and RW Seth Jarvis: Jarvis made a ton of little finesse plays as a passer World Junior roster projection without really taking over as an individual creator (despite the fact that he was constantly looking to shoot, I didn’t think he was much of a threat to score, and his only goal came on a rebound). He does such a good job By Scott Wheeler opening up his stance and deceiving players out of it and rarely telegraphs any of his plays. His ability to anticipate where the puck and Aug 4, 2021 the play is going really helped him be a factor in other ways in all three games, though. I was particularly impressed by his facilitating, his skating, his work rate and the way he used smart body positioning in Instead of participating in the World Junior Summer Showcase in battles against bigger players. Plymouth, Mich., or the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Slovakia, Hockey Canada hosted its own showcase this week in Calgary for nearly 100 of its best LHD Ronan Seeley: Seeley defended well, with an active and disruptive under-18 and under-20 players. stick, faster linear speed than I remember and good timing and recognition on pinches. Offensively, he played more of a simplified game I spent six days at the event, spanning 18 practices and seven games but looked to push when he could. I thought he was sound on his outlets (three U18 games, two U20 games and a pair of games where the two and he stretched the ice a couple of times. groups were mixed and sorted into four teams). Calgary Flames Here are my notes on every drafted NHL prospect who participated, my standouts among the 2022 and 2023 draft-eligibles and an early roster C Rory Kerins: Kerins didn’t look out of place, played in the middle third projection for Team Canada’s 2022 World Junior team. of the ice and scored a pair of goals in three games. He was effective and showed he belonged without being a standout. U20 Notes Dallas Stars Anaheim Ducks C Mavrik Bourque: I’ve got to be honest, I expected more out of Bourque LHD Olen Zellweger: Zellweger spent much of the camp playing on the given his age and talent level. He can be relied upon defensively in ways right side as a lefty, and I thought he handled it well considering he was that some of his peers can’t and consistently makes the right play instead also the youngest defenceman invited by the under-20 program. The of looking to force something, but I’m not sure that’s what he wants (or skating is the skating. He can pick up his stick in his forward stride, but needs) to be in this environment to make the team. He’s so smart with he otherwise flies through the neutral zone to lead rushes and has the the puck but I was just left wanting a little more. ability to spin off pressure and create with his feet. He also played feistier than usual and rose to the challenge against some more advanced LW/RW Logan Stankoven: Stankoven looked really good in practice. Like players physically, battling for pucks and keeping a lot of plays alive. He borderline the best of the bunch in that setting. It didn’t really matter what flashed a silky first touch, too, regularly catching difficult passes mid- kind of drill, either. Flow drill. Battle drill. Small area games. He was stride into a planned movement or a cross-ice pass. impressive in all of them. He was good in the games too, especially among the recent draftees, and scored in the opening scrimmage and C Mason McTavish: McTavish was noticeable throughout, with a trio of the finale (twice) while creating throughout. I was also really impressed assists and a pair of goals (including one that showcased his NHL shot). by his perimeter speed, which looked a step quicker. He burned a He really wants to use his shot from the faceoff circle on the power play, number of defenders out wide. occasionally to his detriment, but that was my only real criticism with the way he looked. He also showed some impressive soft skill at times too, Wyatt Johnston: Johnston looked a step behind and a little out of his finding his way through traffic with quick dekes under sticks instead of element at times. His skating can kick out a little too much, slowing him always looking to play a power game. down out there. I suspect he’ll probably play for Canada in 2023, but I don’t think he’s there yet. Arizona Coyotes Detroit Red Wings LW/RW Dylan Guenther: Guenther’s ability on cuts and jumps really popped. He just explodes past flatfooted players or through seams. And G Sebastian Cossa: Fiery. Confident. Talkative. Doesn’t like to get beat. while he uses a pretty high grip on his stick, his quick hands were Sound on shots that he could see and a little wayward when he had to noticeable and he did a great job getting shots off out of a deke really make the second save or things got scrambly (he’s very athletic but he quickly to fool the goalies. I think he may have added some strength, too, needs to learn to control those pushes a little better). That’s Cossa. He because he looked quietly strong over pucks and able to shed checks. was good without being lights out in the first two games but struggled He was most noticeable off the rush, where he has always thrived and mightily in the finale (surrendering eight goals) and got beat five-hole a scored in transition in the U20s’ second game. He was also quite few times, so I’m planning to keep an eye on that. noticeable in the shootouts they’d run after each game. Even when he LHD Donovan Sebrango: I think Sebrango knows that if he’s going to didn’t score, he had the goalies beat. make the team, it’s likely in a complementary bottom-three shutdown Columbus Blue Jackets type of role and he really dug into that in camp. He identified and hit some small seams with tough passes. But he mostly just ate blocks and RHD Corson Ceulemans: Ceulemans really looked to push the tempo, played a thorny, in-your-face physical style that seemed to rub some of which was nice to see. He was really active in transition leading rushes, his opponents the wrong way. though he didn’t always make a play after entry (which is a pretty common outcome for him because he’s not particularly creative). He was Edmonton Oilers also his usual, physical self. More or less what you’d expect out of him on RW Tyler Tullio: Tullio looked considerably stronger on his feet and that the whole. strength showed in his game, including in his wrister (which surprised me C Kent Johnson: Johnson played centre, so I was happy to see him in a with its pop). He can wait too long to make his play, though, which slows different role than the one he played for the vast majority of his freshman things down because he’s not a skater who’s going to burn anyone. That year at Michigan. I thought he was really impressive even though it didn’t put him into some tough spots occasionally. show up on the scoresheet a ton in the first two games (but he created C/W Xavier Bourgault: Bourgault looked really quick, flashing some five goals in the finale). He drew a couple of penalties dancing opposing straight-line acceleration on the backcheck and in 10-foot races. I was players laterally. Under pressure, he made soft little plays through the impressed by his change of directions with the puck, too. His skating has triangles of sticks and into space for himself to skate onto that drew some come a long way to become a real asset. I thought he played very well in wows from the crowd of scouts. He often looked like the craftiest, most the first two games and peaked in the final one with three points (one confident handler on the ice. He was one of the best players on the ice in goal, two assists) as one of the best players on the ice. his second and third games. Florida Panthers C/LW Cole Sillinger: Sillinger disappointed me a little in the first two games. There were some moments where his skill shone through or he RW Justin Sourdif: Sourdif had one of the best camps. There are some was engaged physically, but I didn’t think he was much of a factor and quirks to his game. He uses an oddly long stick for a 5-foot-11 player, for he’s still got some work to do to fix his forward skating mechanics. But he one, requiring that he carries the puck way out in front of his body was outstanding in the closer, scoring four (!) beautiful goals (including (though it benefits him in the good job he does protecting it). He racked up assists and scored a beautiful catch-and-release goal while looking good on the penalty kill. He wasn’t among my favourites to make the C Ridly Greig: Greig was noticeable in that he keeps himself involved in team when camp started, but I think there’s probably a role for him. the play. But his stride still kicks out on the pick-up and I didn’t think a ton came out of all of his hard work. Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers RHD Brandt Clarke: Clarke’s east-west vision was impressive as ever. He does such a good job changing sides. He also continued to play his RW/LW Connor McClennon: McLennon’s skill really flashed in traffic and roving style as only he could, sliding into the hashmarks to score in the in the shootout, and he played a feistier game than he usually does, but first scrimmage. He has this way of getting into the spots to make he wasn’t a major factor. something happen. I liked what I saw defensively, too. He forced some bad point shots when there were better plays available, but that was my RW Zayde Wisdom: Wisdom feasted on battle drills in practice and was a only quibble. He stamped a strong camp with three assists in the final consistent shift-to-shift presence in the games. Nobody wants to give or game. take a bump from him to fight for possession, so he can hold onto the puck and push into space with relative ease at this level. His playmaking Minnesota Wild has also come a long way. He hit tough holes in coverage (through feet, under sticks) as a passer and demonstrated some sneaky good hands in LHD Carson Lambos: Lambos was excellent. He was confident and traffic. poised with the puck on his stick, regularly beating the first layer of pressure and scoring from the left-wing circle in the opener. St. Louis Blues I spoke to Lambos on the phone this week to get an update on his health. LW Jake Neighbours: Neighbours was most noticeable when he was He still isn’t quite ready to talk about the medical condition he had and physical along the wall at even strength and posting up for his one-timer the procedure he underwent to correct it, but he was in good spirits and from his off-wing on the power play. He can really shoot it from the right- happy to be back in his element. wing faceoff circle and it’s not hard to imagine him in that role on Canada’s power play come Boxing Day. There were times where “Hopefully sometime in the near future but just not yet,” he said. “The Neighbours dropped his head in possession or his passes looked sloppy, procedure was successful and I’m back to 100 percent and fully cleared though. so I don’t have to really worry about it anymore. It has been really good for me and I can get back to work with no excuses.” C/LW Zachary Bolduc: Bolduc’s made a number of really nice plays off the wing and the wall, especially as a passer (though he also scored two LHD Ryan O’Rourke: O’Rourke was a thorn in the side of opposing goals in the final game), and looked really good in his penalty killing reps. players all week and smiling every step of the way, so about on brand. I thought he was a factor on most shifts offensively with the puck on his Montreal Canadiens stick (especially on cuts) and one of the better 2003-born forwards in camp. LHD Kaiden Guhle: I know the Hockey Canada brass loves him, I understand why they do, and he may be the captain of this year’s team, Tampa Bay Lightning but I didn’t actually think Guhle was at his best until the final game of the RHD Jack Thompson: Thompson got his shots through and played his showcase (where he was one of the best players on the ice and involved sturdy, physically engaged style. I’m not sure he’s strong enough in any at both ends). He got burned one-on-one too much for a guy as big and one area to earn a roster spot, though. athletic as he is. His passes were often a little off. He made a couple of plays along the way and snuffed out his usual share defensively but he Vegas Golden Knights just looked a little rusty and sloppy early on in the week. LHD Lukas Cormier: Offensively, Cormier was the most impactful LHD William Trudeau: Trudeau was consistently good. He walks the line defenceman in camp. He activated off the point and into the rush eagerly. effectively, he showed he’s a smooth transition passer and he played a He drove the middle of the ice. And he pushed for chances even on the strong, physical game when he needed to. penalty kill (and drew a penalty while shorthanded). That shouldn’t overcast how effective he was (and is) defensively, either though. He’s Nashville Predators feistier than people realize. He’s disruptive defensively. And he takes LW/RW Luke Evangelista: Evangelista’s release seemed to be fooling away time and space effectively. I expect him to be one of Canada’s goalies off the blade and he was finding his spots in the net with its power play QBs and a big part of the team. accuracy, frequently going post-and-in in practice. I thought he was Winnipeg Jets confident in possession as well and made a couple of nice extra passes to hit the trailer. He also looked heavier than a year ago. I still want to LW Cole Perfetti: Perfetti was the best forward in camp. He’s a lock for see his skating improve, though. It can look sloppy. the first-line left wing role and a letter if he’s allowed to play. His hands under pressure to be able to feed pucks into space and shape passes LW Zachary L’Heureux: L’Heureux was one of the best players in camp, around defenders really differentiate him (including off his backhand, with four points and three nice goals (including one off a steal) to show where he’s excellent). He also did a really good job getting his shots off for it. His stride looked a little choppier than I remember it but he was all around sticks with little adjustments. There’s just an uncanny poise that over the ice, the power is there in his stride to compensate, he played he has with the puck. He’s still got a very upright skating stance but the within himself and he really leaned into his snapshot (which comes off rest of the makings of a star NHL forward are there. He didn’t play in the quickly) a couple of times. finale but I’m told that it’s nothing serious and he was just kept out for New York Islanders precautionary reasons because he was a little banged up. RW William Dufour: Dufour’s hard wrister and presence over the puck Washington Capitals were noticeable in spurts, but they also came with his sluggish stride and G Garin Bjorklund: I thought Bjorklund played well. He really battles to propensity to bobble possession. I don’t think he’s quite at this level. stay in plays and gets to a lot of second pucks. G Tristan Lennox: Too many shots still beat Lennox clean and he’s a split RHD Vincent Iorio: Iorio was more aggressive and confident on the second too slow when the puck gets moving. I thought he was the weak attack than I expected while playing his usual polished game defensively. link in camp. I don’t think he’ll make the team but they paired him with some good New York Rangers players (including Cormier, who is a lock) and he played well. LW Brennan Othmann: Othmann didn’t play with prominent lineups and C Hendrix Lapierre: I didn’t think Lapierre was quite as dominant as I took his turn as a 13th forward but was still consistently making things hoped he’d be but his hands are just so quick and allowed him to dance happen offensively. His outside speed looks improved and he beat his players one-on-one and beat the first defender (or the goalie) all week. guy wide more often than not. And while he can drift to the perimeter in He also looks stronger in battles than a year ago and did a good job. His possession, I thought he did a good job feeding pucks into the interior to playmaking was strong as usual too and he consistently hit the second or create chances (and goals) for his linemates. third option in coverage with a leading pass. G Dylan Garand: Garand was good. He looked like a returnee and never Others seemed bothered or panicked in the net, which each of the other four did C Shane Wright (2022): I don’t think the scouts in attendance saw the at times. best of Wright. He was much better defensively than offensively, which is Ottawa Senators a testament to both his approach (he sacrifices offence to support low) and his physical maturity. He’s got such a low centre of gravity and base in his stride, with this bowed gait that allows him to push through contact. He’s really strong through his drives up the ice or on the backcheck, too. Nathan Gaucher (2022): Gaucher didn’t shy away from the physical side LW Brandon Lisowsky (2022): Lisowsky’s a small but stocky individual but he looked like he was a year or two behind in most other ways, which creator with quick hands, a physical disposition, a strong skating stride is fine! and legitimate power play tools. The puck seemed to follow him throughout camp. RHD Miguel Tourigny: The smallest guy on the ice didn’t play like it. He’s a long shot to make the team at best and didn’t change that with his play Canada roster projection this week, but I thought he played hard defensively, rose to the challenge against some strong players and tried to play his active offensive game Note: The following lineup assumes that Canada will receive each of the when opportunity allowed. five potential returnees from their respective NHL clubs. G Brett Brochu: It was an up-and-down week for Brochu but I’m a big fan The top six forwards there, plus Wright and McTavish (who each could of his game, despite his small frame. His scramble capability is real, even play in the top six and on the power play but I slotted in their spots due to when he’s down on his knees and looks out of it and he stays on his feet stylistic fit) are locks. The way head coach Dave Cameron spoke about long enough to make the high saves, which is tricky. L’Heureux (and the way he played this week), I suspect he’s a strong bet for the bottom six. So that leaves Lapierre, Sourdif and Wisdom as the Injured: Zach Dean (Golden Knights), Daemon Hunt (Wild) bubble guys. There are arguments for any of the players I’ve got listed as extras in their place but Sourdif looked too good to snub all week, U18 Standouts Lapierre’s a needed left-shot passer and Wisdom fits in a checking role. C/RW Adam Fantilli (2023): Fantilli was one of only five 2023 prospects Bedard is obviously the wild card because I suspect he plays his way at the U18 game and he was the best player on the ice all week whether onto the team, even if he starts out as an extra (as has often been the he was at centre or right wing. He blew me away. He looked comfortable case with younger Canadian players at the world juniors). It’s hard to inside the offensive zone. He kept his feet moving (which makes him a lot imagine Mavrik Bourque, who can play anywhere, or Tyson Foerster, to handle). He scored multiple goals with low, hard shots and created who wasn’t at camp but could easily slot in where I have Sourdif, not on multiple others off impressive sequences inside the offensive zone. He the team, though. That’s quite the group of forwards, either way. There showed he could protect the puck and shade in and out of coverage with will be tough choices even if they don’t get Perfetti and Quinton Byfield it. His curl and drag shot really popped. His skating looked powerful, back. And that’s without even really considering players like Sillinger and beating whoever he wanted wide at will. He was a monster in transition. Stankoven, who I think the world of but will probably lose out to older He led his teammates with passes when plays to the slot for himself players. weren’t there. And it was just about every single shift, right through to the The same goes on defence. Those top four are givens. The third pairing game against some U20 competition (where he scored twice). As one is where things get interesting. Because Power, Drysdale and Cormier source described him: “He’s a horse.” He was named the player of the can all run the power play, I wonder if Clarke’s path is actually a little game in the finale. tougher than it should be (though there’s a good chance Power and C/LW David Goyette (2022): Goyette’s effortless, flowing stride really Drysdale aren’t there). The allure of O’Rourke and Sebrango as captivated me. He’s a beautiful skater who catches and handles pucks at defensive types in depth roles will be strong, too. full speed, tries (and executes) things offensively with his hands and And I suspect Cossa and Garand trade games in group play in net and stays on the puck to make things happen inside the offensive zone. He that the only real battle for a roster spot in goal is for the third choice. I’m looked like a first-rounder. still partial to Brochu over Bjorkland and Lennox. C/RW Matthew Poitras (2022): Every game I’d find myself drawn to Poitras and when it was over he’d have a couple points. He’s a crafty playmaker who can play with the puck on his stick or play the give-and- The Athletic LOADED: 08.05.2021 go in and out of space. I liked his game defensively too, despite his smallish frame. He did a good job supporting play and then pushing tempo back in the other direction. LW Jordan Gustafson (2022): Gustafson, who played in the WHL last year and posted 11 points in 23 games with Seattle, was excellent aside from one bad penalty. He’s good below the goal line in puck protection, he’s a heady passer and he’s got really soft hands. RW Sam Alfano (2022): I didn’t know much about Alfano coming in but he caught my eye for different reasons than the rest. He’s big (6-foot-3, 181 pounds) and his skating can look sluggish in short races but he can really get going once he gets moving when he’s driving up ice and wide. He goes to traffic and there were shifts where he was everywhere and his presence was really felt. I’m intrigued! C Connor Bedard (2023): Bedard is noticeable by default. That inside-out cut into a low hard wrister of his is unbelievable. He’s got one of the best shooting actions in motion I’ve ever seen in the way he drops the puck into the middle of his stance and then rips through it. He’s an underrated puck thief. He showed creativity as a passer. He’s fast through his crossovers. He has this way of getting free even when he’s a marked man. My one complaint was that he was a little too eager to get ahead of the play offensively. C Matthew Savoie (2022): Savoie was far and away the most gifted player in camp with the puck on his stick not named Bedard. His hands really flashed side-to-side. He’s got an NHL shot (which he likes to go five-hole with or try to rip high but also put under the bar from a bad angle …). He made some excellent plays in traffic to get into scoring spots for himself and used coverage as a tool to open up his teammates for small-area passes. He split the D a few times and there’s deception in all areas of his game. He also played with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. The kind of player who gets me excited to show up to the rink to watch. He was named the player of the game in the finale. C Hunter Haight (2022): Haight’s vision and playmaking ability through layers to the weak side really flashed multiple times, earning him a spot on this list. He also scored four goals, including a hat trick in the finale (he looked great in the finale before the goals came too). He’s a very clever little player. C/W Markus Vidicek (2022): Vidicek’s a slick playmaker with a good acceleration gear who plays a gifted offensive game built upon a filthy set of hands that were evident whenever he was under pressure. 1191362 Websites For these jerks, they’d argue that they still perform in the upper echelon of the league doing it their way, so “watch your own bobber.” (I love that expression — essentially, control what you can control and don’t look over here and worry about what I have going on.) Sportsnet.ca / How bad teammates can disrupt dressing rooms, team chemistry By and large, teams and players do their best to do that, as long as that performance is up to snuff. It’s still wildly frustrating see someone play well who could play better, but it’s tough to argue with good play. And so, jerks exist on teams and in the league and aren’t punted out entirely. Justin Bourne@jtbourne There’s a threshold though where teams don’t care how well you play if August 4, 2021, 9:37 PM you make being at the rink miserable for everyone. That probably involves verbal and physical abuses, being regularly tardy so others can’t do their jobs, and just generally being a curmudgeon who doesn’t want to Jerks don’t know they’re jerks because they aren’t constantly jerkish. It buy in and pull the rope the same direction as everyone else. would be a lot easier if they knew, but alas, they do not. Think about the ones you’ve let into your life – there has to be stretches of times they’re The common refrain I’ve heard is that a team with a good culture can decent, or you’d have never let them in to begin with. But over time a take on a player who’s self-centred and survive just fine, but you never pattern of jerk-like moments emerges, and all the runs of decency start to want two of them. Dressing room wisdom says that players like that exist in their shadow. gravitate towards one another and form a coalition of negativity, which is a larger problem if they’re a pair that like to drink, gamble and generally Those people choose to see the other times, the more decent ones, as carouse. They can enable one another, try to bait in others and form what defines them rather than the bad moments, which they see as legitimate opposition to the common cause. outliers. Everyone deserves chances and has their imperfect moments, of course, but sometimes the balance is just tipped too heavily the wrong I wouldn’t know how many guys you’d label “jerks” around the NHL, but it way for them to be right on that. isn’t many, at least not the out-and-out kind that are genuinely self- motivated with little regard for others. Maybe there’s a dozen? Two This is a winding way into the conversation about Anthony DeAngelo and dozen, depending on how you set your arbitrary cut-off of acceptable? Evander Kane, two players who have earned clear reputations for But this is part of the reason these guys are tough to find homes for themselves around the NHL. If that reads like me calling them jerks, well, around the league — if nobody wants two on any given team, and there’s I don’t personally know them, so it’s more like me relaying that the guys already a number of them out there, then there are not many teams left they play with think they’re deserving of the label. to choose from. And in Kane’s case, with the big salary in a tight salary world, and his larger off-ice problems still unfolding in real-time, it’s Here’s a news update from San Jose Sharks beat writer Kevin Kurz almost impossible to see a team thinking he’s worth taking on. that’s titled “Several Sharks teammates don’t want Evander Kane back on the team.” The NHL is investigating Kane after his wife alleged that he Hockey players are justifiably mocked for being comically homogeneous, is "compulsive gambling addict" who has thrown games to win money. with bland stock answers coming from a line of guys with cookie-cutter Kane has adamantly denied the allegations. Here’s an article from earlier appearances. It’s at the root of the sport’s issue with an utter lack of this year called “Tony DeAngelo should be out of chances” by Shayna diversity, from appearances to voices to opinions and more (that’s a Goldman that compiles a list of his transgressions, including reportedly much bigger issue than just “how do jerks disrupt what pro hockey teams getting in an altercation with former New York Rangers teammate are trying to do”). Much of that general vanilla-ness stems from a desire Alexandar Georgiev, roughing up officials and using a slur against a to portray themselves as players that can fit in, and can help any team teammate while with the OHL's Sarnia Sting. He wasn’t bought out of his that’s trying to pull that rope in one very specific direction. I think they’re lucrative contract because he’s not talented — it’s the jerk thing. subconsciously signalling their willingness to play the system, be a part of the bigger machine and not cause anyone’s energy to be spent And so here we are, with a 25-year-old right-shot D-man that can ably cleaning up additional issues. run an NHL power-play one scraping for a one-year deal just above league minimum, and the Sharks trying to trade a bruising forward who Teams root out jerks the way the body roots out viruses, as they take scored 22 times in two-thirds of a season with no left-winger depth energy to remove but will let the greater system function better once behind him. Being a good teammate: apparently important to NHL teams. eliminated. Fevers are your body raising its own temperature to make that happen. Fevers in hockey teams are “Several Sharks teammates So how big a deal is this, really? How much can a hockey dressing room don’t want Evander Kane back on the team.” survive jerks, and bad teammates, because let’s face it — there’s a sliding scale here. We see teams put up with larger amounts of jerkish As I mentioned, there’s a sliding scale of how big a jerk you’re allowed to behaviour from better players. Meanwhile, NHL fourth lines are almost be in hockey (and many lines of work), and it directly correlates to how devoid of personality issues, because nobody is putting up with a fringe talented you are. Morally, that’s not how it should work. But with job player making league minimum who’s also a problem. Those players are preservation a priority for most in front offices, and elite talent hard to easier to replace given the smaller talent downgrade from one come by, that’s reality. replacement-level guy to the next. It’s possible that DeAngelo has learned his lesson, and will mature. It’s Hockey teams play within systems, links in a chain that rely on one possible that playing for Rod Brind’Amour and the Carolina Hurricanes another to stay together. If one single person doesn’t do their job, others organization will keep him in check. It’s possible that Kane finds a new must abandon their posts to cover, and the links fall apart. Often, to home, scores goals and stays out of trouble for a while. execute a system, players must leave areas of the rink open and trust that someone else is switching to that spot, which can feel like a trust fall. Jerks aren’t always jerks, and while under extra scrutiny the way these Only in hockey, if you just hesitate – which can happen if you’ve been two are, I’m guessing things are fine with both for a while, at least in burned before – you can be too late getting to where you need to be, and terms of not adding additional issues to their respective piles. But these the metaphorical fall can be all the way to the ground. Bam, goal against. patterns of bad behaviour rarely just die out forever. I’d bet that the issue won’t be for their teams in the immediate season ahead, but the next Trust between teammates is paramount, and players who take risks to ones who bet on them having changed for good. maybe get an offensive bounce can occasionally subvert that.

On the ice, demonstrating that the team's needs come first is easy. You can block shots, take hits to move the puck somewhere more Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 08.05.2021 advantageous and change when your line is heading into the offensive zone rather than the opposite. The list is long. These things bleed off the rink. Most pros today put in the extra time in the gym to be stronger. Most players are punctual so everyone can keep their schedules moving and have time to do the things they need to do to prepare for practice and games. Most players take care of themselves off the ice so they can be their best, which benefits everybody. Much like in any place of business, it can rub people the wrong way when co-workers obviously prioritize their interests over the teams, whether that be on the ice or off — in the cubicles or out of them. 1191363 Websites better this season, and we've started that process. You couldn't ask for a better commitment than what our organization has done so far (this summer) but we've still got a lot of work to do.” Sportsnet.ca / After transformative summer, key to Canucks' redemption Even in August, Green was coy about lineup deployments, but it’s not is commitment automatic that Garland plays with captain Bo Horvat on the second line while Dickinson centres the third.

“What I like is that we're going to have options,” Green said. “With J.T. Iain MacIntyre@imacSportsnet playing centre last year, out of necessity, I think he grew into that position. I think that gives us some flexibility where we could run our August 4, 2021, 3:48 PM centres in different options if we want to. Obviously, we've got some young wingers with Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander. I never. . . want to put pressure on a young player to be at a certain level. But I'm also VANCOUVER -- For one summer and the hockey season that followed, hopeful that (Podkolzin) can play in that top nine and we’ll see where we Travis Green’s buzzword for his players was “adaptable.” end up with the lines. We'll probably try a lot of different combinations in camp and in exhibition.” The coronavirus forced change and adaptability on all of us. 31 Thoughts: The Podcast But after a miserable pandemic season for the Vancouver Canucks, who plummeted from within a game of the Stanley Cup playoffs’ final four to Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey one game from the bottom four in the National Hockey League standings, world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what the coach has new buzzwords. they think about it. “Commitment,” Green said Tuesday night from his Southern California With the salary cap and trade-capital limitations, the Canucks didn’t home. “And a little bit of redemption.” upgrade their defence like they did the forwards group. Ekman-Larsson over Alex Edler, the career-Canuck who signed with the Los Angeles Green told Sportsnet he is excited about the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade Kings, is an upgrade. But signing Tucker Poolman to replace Nate and other July upgrades that have made the Canucks deeper and better. Schmidt is a downgrade. So where is the improvement? But the key to getting back to the playoffs next season is the commitment from everyone in the organization to be better and, especially, for Green: “Every team has stronger and weaker defencemen individually. I Vancouver’s key, young players to keep pushing for improvement. like the group of defencemen that we have. But team defence is exactly that -- it's team defence. Part of that is commitment when you're in your In one of his first interviews since general manager Jim Benning’s roster own zone, part of that is a commitment not to cheat in certain areas of renovation, which included acquiring Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland and the game, and part of that is having the puck more. With the changes Jason Dickinson in trade and a pile of players in free agency to push for we've made, we will have the puck more. But we're going to have to be depth positions, Green also said incumbent J.T. Miller could play centre very committed in certain parts of our game.” next season as the coaching staff takes advantage of the options created by the improved lineup. There’s that C-word again. Green said it was vital to reinvigorate the organization after last season, Green also mentioned the P-word, but wasn’t as emphatic as GM and the upgrades the Canucks have made has everyone excited about Benning about projecting the Canucks as a playoff team. returning to training camp in September. “That will be our expectation from our group going into the year,” he said. “I think it was important,” Green said. “It was a very hard season last “And yet, as a coach and team, amongst our players, we don't start year, emotionally, physically. Especially after the season before when we looking at the end of the season and talking about what we're going to do had such positive energy at the end of the year, and everyone was in the playoffs. I think that's dangerous when you start doing that. There's looking forward to the next season, last year was miserable quite definitely a process to everything. Right now as coaches, we want to get honestly. I think it really left a mark on our players, on our coaches and our team prepared for Game 1. But I can tell you that our long-term goals our management team and our ownership. are to be in the playoffs next year.” “It took me a while to even have year-end meetings, just because I Training camp opens Sept. 23 in Abbotsford, and the Canucks’ first pre- wanted to make sure that the message was right, and I just felt like I season game is against the Seattle Kraken in Spokane, Wash., three needed some time and I think the players needed some time to even talk nights later. about season. You're going to come back the next year and you want to be better, but there has to be a commitment to be better. The easy thing to say is: 'Hey, let's be better.' But that takes a commitment. . . from Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 08.05.2021 everyone in the organization.” Benning’s marquee additions from a year ago, goalie Braden Holtby and defenceman Nate Schmidt, were jettisoned last week. Jake Virtanen was bought out, and Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle and their bad contracts were sent to Arizona with first- and second-round picks in exchange for defenceman Ekman-Larsson (and $43.56-million in cap charges) and Garland, the dynamic winger who was quickly signed to a five-year, $24.75-million contract. “When you're adding quality players like Oliver and Conor, it's hard not to get excited,” Green said. “I think there's a lot of left in (Ekman-Larsson). After speaking with him and watching video on him, I have no doubt that he's going to have a really good season this year. Admittedly, he said he didn't play his best last year and maybe even a little bit before that. Sometimes a change of scenery really helps a player. I think we're getting a player who's hungry also to have a real big season and a big bounce back. He's going to help us in a lot of ways.” And Garland? “I've noticed him right from his rookie season,” Green said. “When he first got called up, it was hard not to notice him. His engine runs hot, he's competitive, he's feisty. The eye test, when you watch him, it's hard not to notice him. And analytically, he's got very good numbers. He is still coming into his own; he hasn't played a lot of games in the NHL. I think you can say that about a lot of our players: there's still more to give and they haven't hit their ceiling. “I don't put any of the blame (for last season) on anyone that has left our team. I think everyone's part of the blame. As a group, we just did not have a very good season. The one thing is that we're committed to being 1191364 Websites looking up to them and learning is unreal and is just going to make us better hockey players.”

On having the chance to learn from players she grew up admiring: NCAA players hope to make impact for Team Canada at worlds “Mine is Natalie Spooner and Brianne Jenner. Being from Ontario, and watching them in the Olympics in 2014 is when I started idolizing these people. Whenever I saw them at any rink, I was like, ‘Oh my God. By Salim Valji They’re so cool and so good at hockey.’ Now being with them, it’s an unreal experience and so good to get to know them.”

Ryan on what Gosling brings to the program: This year’s Canadian centralization roster represents a changing of the guard for the entire program ahead of the 2021 IIHF Women's World “She’s been great. I think she’s the youngest player that we have in the Hockey Championship. mix, but the special thing about her is that she’s such a great athlete that the things we throw at her, she can adjust and implement them into her There are a number of roster spots at forward and defence up for grabs on-ice game. She has a great stick, long reach, and great shot.” ahead of cuts on Thursday, with the possibility that as many as 10 players could make their world championship debut later this month. Sarah Fillier, F, 21, Princeton The current group in Calgary has just five players who are over 30 years Ryan on what Fillier brings to the program: old, led by stars Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianne Jenner, and Natalie Spooner. “Sarah is another one that played on the same U18 team I coached previously. Sarah plays the game at such a fast rate of speed. She’s a Gone are roster mainstays of the past such as Laura Fortino, Meghan great playmaker, she can finish. She’s done a great job at Princeton. Agosta, and Brigette Lacquette, veterans who played significant roles at Every time we went down to watch her, she’s been dominant. We’re very previous Olympics and world championships. excited to have her in the program. The biggest thing with her is understanding how good she can be at this level. If she plays with Among those vying to take their place is a quadrant of current NCAA confidence, I think we’re going to see some great things from her.” players in Ashton Bell, Emma Maltais, Julia Gosling, and Sarah Fillier in what head coach Troy Ryan called a “changing of the cycle” for the program. The other players on the centralization roster played in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association regional hubs this TSN.CA LOADED: 08.05.2021 past season.

TSN spoke with Bell, Maltais, and Gosling (Fillier was unavailable for an interview) about their experience at camp, and had Ryan weigh in on all four players. Ashton Bell, D, 21, University of Minnesota-Duluth On her experience at training camp: “It’s been awesome so far. The older girls have been great showing us the ropes and answering any questions we have.” On having the chance to learn from players she grew up admiring: “I have definitely looked up to a lot of these girls growing up and watching them compete at Olympics. Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast have been awesome with me, just helping me out and, if I have any questions, just being open to answer them for me.” Ryan on what Bell brings to the program: “Ashton is a great player. I had the privilege of coaching her at the U18 World Championship for Canada. She previously was a forward, so she’s just transitioning from a forward to a D. With that, you have to give players time to adjust, and Ashton’s done a great job adjusting. She has a big presence, plays the game the right way, good body posture, good point shot. She’s fun to work with right now.” Emma Maltais, F, 21 , Ohio State On her experience at training camp: “It’s really a remarkable experience. We get to look up to all the older girls, a lot of which are our role models growing up. Just being here in general is such an honour, and then getting the opportunity to learn from them is something you can’t even explain.” On having the chance to learn from players she grew up admiring: “Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner are two particular players I looked up to growing up. Natalie also went to Ohio State and Poulin is such an amazing player. It’s really cool to get to know them as people, too.” Ryan on what Maltais brings to the program: “Watching Emma at practice, she’s just a ball of energy. One of the things we’re trying to do is play the game a little faster and the way she forechecks is the way we would like our entire team to forecheck. She’s hungry on pucks. She doesn’t mind playing physical and she’s been a great addition to our program.” Julia Gosling, F, 20, St. Lawrence University On her experience at training camp: “It’s really just an unbelievable experience and we learn a lot from these girls because they’ve been through so much through hockey. Just