All the Stanley Cup and NHL Divisional Odds Ahead of Opening Night
All the Stanley Cup and NHL Divisional Odds Ahead of Opening Night
NHL West Division Preview: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
NHL West Division Preview: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 11, 2021
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 11, 2021
The Dallas Stars remain sidelined by COVID-19, an update on the Canucks after they canceled yesterday’s practice, the latest contract signings and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
SPORTSNET: The Dallas Stars remain sidelined by a COVID-19 outbreak among six players and two staff members. The club last practiced on Wednesday. Their regular-season schedule has been revised with their season-opener now slated for Jan. 19.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks will resume practice today after canceling activities on Sunday as a precautionary measure due to potential COVID-19 exposure.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: COVID-19 remains a factor despite the league’s health and safety protocols. Expect more canceled practices and perhaps future game postponements over the course of this season similar to those in other major pro sports leagues in recent months.
NJ.COM: The New Jersey Devils signed winger Jesper Bratt to a two-year, $5.5 million deal. The restricted free agent’s contract standoff sidelined him from the Devils’ opening week of training camp.
New Jersey Devils sign winger Jesper Bratt (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It will still take some time for Bratt to join his teammates. He’s still in Sweden awaiting a work visa, after which he’ll have to quarantine for seven days after traveling to New Jersey. He’ll miss their opening two games of the season on Jan. 14 and 16 and perhaps more depending on how long it takes to get his visa sorted out.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Golden Knights winger Alex Tuch is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and could miss their season-opener on Jan. 14 against the Anaheim Ducks.
NEWSDAY: New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas left yesterday’s practice nursing what appeared to be an injured left hand or lower-left arm.
TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed Michael Del Zotto to a one-year, two-way contract. He was attending their training camp on a tryout basis.
SPORTSNET: Free-agent defenseman Ben Hutton signed a professional tryout offer with the Anaheim Ducks.
THE SCORE: Promising prospect Tim Stuetzle had his first practice session with the Ottawa Senators yesterday. The 18-year-old center was selected third overall by the Senators in the 2020 NHL Draft.
TWINCITIES.COM: Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi is sidelined indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Rossi is the Wild’s first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 2020 draft.
Common question regarding waivers & Taxi Squad:
If a team acquires a player on waivers, can they loan them to the taxi squad?
The answer is no, the new team would need to put the player on waivers again, and only after clearing could the player be put on the taxi squad.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) January 10, 2021
Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – January 10, 2021
Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – January 10, 2021
The latest on Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Devils’ options to replace Corey Crawford, and an update on the Islanders in the Sunday NHL rumor roundup.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks believes the Rangers would have to pay a “painful cost” to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois. The 22-year-old center reportedly seeks a trade despite recently signing a two-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It would prove costly for the New York Rangers to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL Images).
Brooks said the Rangers are monitoring Dubois’ situation. He believes the Jackets will want a center in return, suggesting the Blueshirts might have to part with Filip Chytil as part of the return. He also thinks the Jackets would want Alexis Lafreniere or Kaapo Kakko in the deal. Brooks suggests K’Andre Miller, Matthew Robertson, Tony DeAngelo or Vitaly Kravtsov could also interest the Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I think the Jackets would want a player who can improve their roster immediately. Maybe they’d be tempted to accept a package of young Rangers’ players/prospects if Lafreniere were part of the deal, but I don’t see the Blueshirts moving him or Kakko. Perhaps the Jackets would accept a package of young players and/or prospects if they could flip some of them to another club for an impact center.
TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons said if he were New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello he’d trade recently-signed Mathew Barzal to the Jackets for Dubois. While Barzal is the better offensive player, Dubois is bigger, less expensive and plays a better three-zone game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: But Lamoriello isn’t Simmons and he’s not going to trade Barzal for Dubois. It would be a little risky for the Isles as we don’t know if Dubois would commit beyond next season to staying on Long Island.
THE ATHLETIC: Corey Masisak examines the New Jersey Devils’ options to replace Corey Crawford. The 36-year-old goaltender announced his retirement yesterday.
For now, their tandem will be starter Mackenzie Blackwood with Scott Wedgewood as the backup. Masisak points out the external options aren’t ideal, with Jimmy Howard as the only goalie in the unrestricted free agent market who won a game in the NHL last season. Howard won just two of 27 appearances with a .882 save percentage with the Detroit Red Wings.
There were reports earlier in the offseason that the Vegas Golden Knights were looking to trade Marc-Andre Fleury but Masisak felt they had time to find a suitable backup by then. He wonders if the Arizona Coyotes might promote Adin Hill and listen to offers for Antti Raanta, who has a year left on his contract with a salary-cap hit of $4.25 million.
The waiver wire could be another option. The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Michael Hutchinson on waivers yesterday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Devils could start the season with the Blackwood-Wedgewood tandem and see how things unfold. It’ll be interesting to see if they pluck someone off waivers. The fact no one signed Howard by now suggests he has little value to NHL clubs.
If the Devils opt for a trade they have plenty of salary-cap space to take on Raanta’s cap hit if the Coyotes want to move him. Fleury, meanwhile, isn’t available. The Golden Knights intend to start this season with Fleury and Robin Lehner splitting their goalie duties.
THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple reports Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello was trying to trade a player in order to sign Mathew Barzal to a long-term extension. However, it appears no team was willing to take on Thomas Hickey or Leo Komarov with budgets tight and the start of the season fast approaching. Barzal yesterday inked a three-year, $21 million contract with the Isles.
Jackets Re-Sign Bjorkstrand, Predators Sign Kunin In Latest NHL Moves
Jackets Re-Sign Bjorkstrand, Predators Sign Kunin In Latest NHL Moves
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 6, 2021
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 6, 2021
The NHL announces sponsors for its realigned divisions, plus updates on David Pastrnak, Dougie Hamilton, Alexander Kerfoot and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: The league has partnered with four sponsors for its realigned divisions for the upcoming 2020-21 season. They will be known as the Scotia NHL North Division, Honda NHL West Division, Discover NHL Central Division, and the MassMutual NHL East Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Or, as I and most hockey fans will refer to them, the North, West, Central and East Divisions.
This news will surely raise hackles among hockey purists already upset over ad logos appearing this season on the players’ helmets. But, as The Athletic’s Scott Burnside indicates, this move is necessary to offset some of the lost revenue this season from the absence of fans due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This could be simply a one-time thing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the practice of division sponsors continues when things (hopefully) return to normal next season.
NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy yesterday said David Pastrnak was making progress in his recovery from offseason hip surgery. The original prognosis for the winger was mid-February but Cassidy suggested it could be a little earlier than that.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A late January or early February return for Pastrnak seems possible. The sooner the high-scoring winger returns to the Bruins first line, the better their chances of maintaining their status as a Stanley Cup contender this season.
NHL.COM: Dougie Hamilton wants to remain with the Carolina Hurricanes and hopes the two sides can work out a new contract. The 27-year-old defenseman is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Hamilton said he’ll leave the negotiations to his agent and focus on the upcoming season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell has indicated a willingness to sign Hamilton to a contract extension. The blueliner’s asking price and the Hurricanes’ inclination to meet it will determine if he has a future in Carolina.
Hamilton was considered a serious contender for the Norris Trophy last season until sidelined by a broken leg last January. Another Norris-worth performance could price him out of the Hurricanes’ comfort zone.
CBS SPORTS: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alexander Kerfoot was banged up in training camp yesterday and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Winger Alex Tuch took a maintenance day yesterday as a precautionary measure after experiencing soreness following the first day of on-ice drills on Monday.
NEW YORK POST: The New York Islanders have reportedly signed free-agent winger Matt Martin to a four-year contract worth an annual average value of $1.5 million. He’ll be 36 when this contract expires.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This deal ensures Martin could retire as an Islander, though he could be selected by Seattle in this summer’s expansion draft if left unprotected. The checking-line winger is considered one of the Isles’ glue guys, the type of hard-working player who brings the team together.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars defenseman Joel Hanley missed practice yesterday. He’s been declared “unfit to practice” and listed as day-to-day.
THE SCORE: Former Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill was hired by the Seattle Kraken as an assistant general manager to GM Ron Francis. Former Chicago Blackhawks executive Norm McIver was hired as the Kraken’s director of player personnel.
NHLPA: Colin Wilson officially announced his retirement yesterday following 11 NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche. He scored 113 goals and 286 points in 632 regular-season games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Wilson and his family in their future endeavors.
Congratulations to Team USA for their 2-0 victory over Team Canada to win the gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Championships. It’s the fourth straight time in as many meetings that Team USA has defeated Canada in the gold-medal game.
Florida Panthers’ goalie prospect Spencer Knight made 34 saves for the shutout. Anaheim Ducks prospect center Trevor Zegras had a goal and an assist while Los Angeles Kings prospect center Alex Turcotte also tallied for the Americans. Zegras led the tournament with 18 points and was named tournament MVP.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Russia may be Canada’s oldest hockey rival but the United States is the biggest rival and has been for some time.