NHL Offseason Lookahead – New York Islanders
NHL Offseason Lookahead – New York Islanders
NHL Draft: Five Teams That Must Hit A Home Run
NHL Draft: Five Teams That Must Hit A Home Run
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 5, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 5, 2020
Henrik Lundqvist determined to continue his playing career, the Blackhawks trade Olli Maatta to the Kings, the Stars re-sign Andrej Sekera, and an update on Ryan Strome in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NEW YORK POST: Henrik Lundqvist took to Twitter Sunday expressing his determination to continue his playing career. “I still love to compete. I still love the game and I still want to WIN”, he tweeted. The 38-year-old goaltender was bought out of the final year of his contract last week by the Rangers.
Henrik Lundqvist remains determined to continue his NHL career (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Larry Brooks speculated the Washington Capitals could be a destination for Lundqvist, citing a report Saturday by Sportsnet. Brooks wondered if the former Vezina Trophy winner would accept a full-time backup role, though he might not have much choice given his play has regressed with age. He also suggested the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights as options.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE/LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Chicago Blackhawks yesterday traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for minor-league forward Brad Morrison. The Blackhawks retained just over $750K of Maatta’s $4.088-million annual average value for the next two seasons.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This move frees up cap space for the Blackhawks. They now have $11.1 million available to put toward re-signing restricted free agents Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome, Drake Caggiula and Slater Koekkoek and re-sign or replace unrestricted free agent goalie Corey Crawford. The Times, meanwhile, indicates Maatta will fill the Kings’ need for an experienced left-side defenseman.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars yesterday re-signed defenseman Andrej Sekera to a two-year contract worth $1.5 million annually.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As the report indicates, this move means the Stars won’t have to go into the trade or free-agent market to find a cheap third-pairing, penalty-killing defenseman. Cap Friendly indicates the move leaves the Stars with $67.5 million invested in 17 players. Anton Khudobin, Corey Perry and Mattias Janmark are unrestricted free agents while Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa are restricted free agents.
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers have not yet decided if they tender a qualifying offer to Ryan Strome. The 27-year-old center is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The deadline for qualifying offers is 5 pm ET on Tuesday. If Strome doesn’t receive one, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Larry Brooks speculates it could cost $4.75 million to re-sign Strome, which could be too expensive for the Rangers. He’s a year away from UFA eligibility.
NHL Offseason Lookahead – Colorado Avalanche
NHL Offseason Lookahead – Colorado Avalanche
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 4, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 4, 2020
The Penguins re-sign Tristan Jarry, the Flyers re-up Brian Elliott, the Coyotes intend to buy out Michael Grabner, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday re-signed goaltender Tristan Jarry to a three-year, $10.5-million contract. The annual average value is $3.5 million. Jarry, 25, was slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: An affordable re-signing by the Penguins. Jarry is expected to take over as their full-time starting goaltender in 2020-21. The Penguins now have $78.8 million invested in 21 players.
This move has also ramped up speculation over Matt Murray’s future with the Penguins. It’s assumed the Penguins will trade him, but general manager Jim Rutherford indicated they’ll extend a qualifying offer this week and could take him to arbitration as a formality to retain his signing rights. However, Rutherford also admitted speaking with other clubs, though he hasn’t fully shut the door on re-signing Murray.
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: The Flyers re-signed goalie Brian Elliott to a one-year, $1.5-million contract. Elliott, 35, was due to become an unrestricted free agent on Oct. 9.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Elliott took a $500K pay cut to stay with the Flyers. He’s been a reliable backup and mentor to young starting goalie Carter Hart.
ARIZONA SPORTS: The Coyotes placed winger Michael Grabner on waivers Saturday for the purpose of buying out the final season of his contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cap Friendly indicates the Coyotes will incur a cap hit of $833K for 2020-21, rising to $1.258 million in 2021-22.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens extended qualifying offers to Max Domi, Victor Mete, Charles Hudon, Noah Juulsen and Xavier Ouellet.
NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: The Capitals signed prospect defenseman Lucas Johansen to a one-year, two-way contract.
No Surprise at the top of our 2020 NHL Mock Draft
No Surprise at the top of our 2020 NHL Mock Draft