George McPhee named Las Vegas GM, latest contract signings & more in this morning’s collection of NHL headlines.
Las Vegas NHL expansion club to hire George McPhee as general manager.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Former Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee has been selected as the GM for Las Vegas’ NHL expansion franchise. A news conference is set for today to make the official announcement.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I like this hiring by Las Vegas. McPhee has many years of front office experience, including 17 seasons as GM of the Capitals from 1997 to 2014. He’s a good choice to build Vegas’ roster.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed center Victor Rask to a six-year deal worth $4 million annually.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s a hefty raise from Rask’s $863K annual average salary last season. Rask had 33 points in his rookie campaign (2014-15) and 21 goals and 48 points as an NHL sophomore. Should he become a 50-plus point player, this will be a worthwhile deal for the Hurricanes.
NJ.COM: The New Jersey Devils named forward Ryane Clowe as an assistant coach.
SUN-SENTINEL.COM: Florida Panthers coach Gerard Gallant admits to being slightly surprised by the club’s recent personnel turnover, which including several roster changes (trading Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov, signing UFAs Keith Yandle and James Reimer) and Tom Rowe taking over as general manager. Still, he likes the club’s makeup and is excited about the new additions.
NEWSDAY: The New York Islanders re-signed defenseman Scott Mayfield to a two-year, one-way contract worth $650K per season.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars re-signed defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a one-year deal worth over $918K.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Korbinian Holzer to a one-year, $700K contract.
NBC SPORTS: Buffalo Sabres prospect Michael Campoli avoided serious injury after being stretchered from the ice during development camp yesterday. He was subsequently released from hospital.
ARIZONA SPORTS: After Sportsnet 590 host Dean Blundell recently slammed Shane Doan for re-signing with the Arizona Coyotes, Vince Marotta offers a spirited defense of Doan.
Yeah but Doan is a loser. He is used to losing. He would rather sit in the desert and make 5 million (after bonuses) rather than go and win a championship. You can call it loyalty but if he had any fire in him to win, he would leave the desert. Makes you wonder why they are such losers if their leader likes losing doesn’t it?
You can take shots at Toronto with a “mic drop” but hahaha…. Leafs fans have never heard anything like that before… I’d ask what it’s like to go through Bankruptcy seeing as the Leafs don’t know what that is… I’d ask if they still have to validate free parking to get people to buy a ticket to a game in the desert… I’d tell them 10 years of losing sucks but what’s it like losing for 20? Most likely I’d just ask, what? That team is still around is it? Never noticed…
yeah… great burn about Toronto being losers…
Or maybe Doan and his family also enjoy living in Arizona? Can’t fault a player for wishing to play where he’s happy. Doesn’t make him a “loser”.
Over the past 10 seasons, the Coyotes went to the playoffs three times, including a trip to the Western Conference Final, despite their ownership woes. That’s more than can be said for the Leafs over the same period of time.
If Doan’s such a “loser” used to losing, why did he play for Canada’s World Cup of Hockey-winning team in 2004, scoring the championship clinching goal against Finland? Why did he play for Canada on several World Championship rosters, including two gold-medal winning teams in 2003 and 2007, the latter of which he was team captain? After all, he’s a loser used to losing, so why waste his time skating for teams where he’d have a chance to win something?
Your argument falls flat, Michael. The Leafs have been losers for a decade now. And while they are turning things around, the fact remains the Coyotes have a better record than the Leafs do over that period.
Also, I had to chuckle at Blundell’s comments. He claimed he “didn’t care” about Doan re-signing with the Coyotes, then went on a two-minute rant as though Doan had personally offended him. It’s like Doan somehow violated some sacred rule that he shouldn’t re-sign with his team if it hasn’t been playing well of late. Weird. Just weird.
It’s funny. Pundits and fans whine that there’s “no loyalty” anymore by players toward their teams, that they’re only interested in selling themselves to the highest bidder. Yet, when Doan spends his entire career with one team, even if they’ve struggled on and off the ice, he’s labeled a loser.
Well said Lyle. I’ve never been a fan of the Coyotes, nor do I like the idea of them staying in Arizona for as long as they have, but you have to admire what Shane Doan has accomplished for both himself and that city.
What people don’t understand is that franchises like the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens praise the likes of Sundin and Beliveau because of their devotion to the teams they played for. Yet when a team like the Coyotes has someone in Shane Doan, an individual that embraces this team and this city, we mock him for doing so? For Coyotes fans, he is their Mats Sundin, their Jarome Iginla, their Joe Sakic. He is a dying breed of player.
Congrats to him on a long career, and I hope at some point he also gets HHOF consideration. I would love to see this new Coyotes team stick it to the Kings and Ducks this season. It would make for exciting hockey and also re-enforce the value of drafting, developing, and patience.
World Cup and championships from 9+ years ago. A trip to a conference final. It’s great and fine to be loyal but he is accustomed to losing and a losing culture. We have spoken ad nauseum about losing cultures for the Leafs. Losing cultures for the Oilers. It has been mentioned non stop how being in a losing culture for long periods of time breeds complacency to losing correct? So why it is loyalty here? Why is it not he is used to losing? He should be respected for his dedication to the team but it can be questioned just how much he wants to actually win or is it a more “nice if it happens” should he win?
Maybe 9+ years ago he was more engaged to win? I don’t know. Maybe it’s like you say, he just likes it there and his family does. Been there a long time so they have lots of roots and a life. But he has had the chance to go as a rental to take a run at a cup. I doubt people would fault him for that. Even if he resigned after the playoffs. To just have a chance, you would think a player who is competitive enough and wants to win enough would want that. Maybe he doesn’t care about a cup though.
As for loyalty, like Sundin, I felt when he was asked to waive his no move and he didn’t want to because he wanted to stay a Leaf, he had earned that right. It was his contract. But after that season he sits on the sidelines for a few months and decides to sign with Vancouver. That doesn’t sound very loyal to me. If he was loyal to the Leafs, he would have come back to them wouldn’t he have? People forget all that.
I’m just saying that loyalty is great but Doan looks like he is accustomed to losing and being in a situation as such. Regardless, he will have his number retired one day as it should be because he is worthy of the honor and likely a spot in the Hall of fame one day.
How does deciding to stick with one franchise throughout Doan’s career mean he’s “accustomed to losing”? I don’t buy that argument at all. In 2012, he had the opportunity to depart via free agency. He visited several different NHL teams that summer, including Vancouver (2011 Cup champion) and the New York Rangers. Ultimately, he decided to stay with the Coyotes. Several factors were cited, not the least of which was his family was happy living in Arizona, plus the loyalty he felt to the organization and the fact the club had just gone to the Western Conference Final that year. It wasn’t his fault the club struggled after that. Anyone who has followed Doan’s career knows he’s just as competitive as every other NHL player. The Coyotes were a more competitive team this past season. They have a bright future and he wants to be part of it. At this stage of his career, he still feels like he can help the team. As I said earlier, it’s funny how some fans and pundits rail about players no longer showing loyalty to their teams in this era of free agency, but when Doan does, he’s disparaged as a “loser.”
To be really honest the Leafs have been losers for almost 70 years now. Not since there was a 1 in 6 chance of winning the cup. It’s kind of pathetic to call any other teams of players losers when your team has only appeared in 1’playoff series in the salary cap era and they choked historically in that series.
& in a lockout shortened season Deeeeee. Had it been an 82 game schedule they would have missed just like they did the 2 seasons prior. At the 48 game mark the 2 seasons prior I believe they were sitting in a playoff spot, it’s been a long time but if memory serves & I’m old, I believe that to be true. Not that it really matters as they did make it. Then collapsed once there.
Brutal. Off the mark & Unfounded. If Arizona had Toronto’s resources being the richest team in the league for the majority of their history they would have far more to show for it. Your slagging 1 of the most respected players to play the game & has always stepped up to play for any team asked to.
It’s not just about loyalty, it’s a life style choice, playing for the only team you have ever played for & happy with the role opportunity that such provides. Arizona’s financial woes aren’t Doan’s doing. He has been treated & paid well & fairly. Sure he would love to win a championship all players would be he stayed the course & supported what Arizona is doing.
Arizona is right on cusp of greatness. Not sure Doan has enough left to be there when it happens but I have Arizona making the playoffs this season & in 2 to 3 years they are a serious cup contender.
Now this blog is in no way meant to slight Toronto who are 2 years behind Arizona in their rebuild, have a very bright future of their own & have righted decades on ineptitude. You have to go back to the original 6 team NHL; the 60’s, & Toronto’s exclusive player rights; Montreal had them as well, to find any glory years really. That’s over 50 years isn’t it?
Nice work Einstein.
Miller come on who are you really? Love 1st time posters that join one of the best hockey chat rooms on the net but you write like people we have seen under numerous names, better than some actually. Ha-ha!
If new welcome aboard. Nice kick off.
What I dont get Miller is you say hes a loser but you say he should be respected for his loyalty.
How can you respect someone and call them a loser ?
McPhee is a very interesting choice by Vegas. I think Don Maloney would have been the best choice, but…
The rebuild job that McPhee did in the mid 2000’s was one of the best I have ever seen. I have forgotten some of the moves, but he basically turned every asset he dealt away into a useful or core piece of the Ovechkin era Capitals.
He turned Peter Bondra into Brooks Laich.
He turned Robert Lang into Tomas Fleischmann and the pick that became Mike Green.
He tanked so hard to get Ovechkin that they benched their starter for their ECHL goalie, not even their AHL goalie.
His drafting was also pretty solid, especially late first picks like Kuznetsov and Johansson.
Good hire.
I good solid hiring. A very astute hockey mind & great choice to build an expansion team. Not sure a new waive GM like say a Botterill or MacIver is ready for that responsibility.
An Okay hire. But don’t forget he turned Forsberg into Erat.
I can’t fault Doan for backing his team. And it is HIS team. All to often we expect players to simply chase the Cup, without regard for their team or teammates. There is a reason Vermette when to the Hawks, won a cup, and then went back to Arizona. It isn’t often a player plays for a team that long. Doan and Marleau are the two that come to mind. And both players are either constantly put in trade rumors or berated for their performance. I respect any player that sticks with his team. It happens less and less in the cap era. I hope Doan has a stellar season.