Off-Season Hockey Thread

With the Red Wings drafting in the 6th spot and the Sharks drafting in the 7th spot here's a possible prospect that could fall to the Sharks.....

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings passed up the opportunity to draft Quinn Hughes in 2018, and he has since emerged as one of the top, young defensemen in the NHL.

The Red Wings might have a chance to select his brother, Luke, on July 23 during the first round of the draft.

Luke is a 6-2, 184-pound left-shooting defenseman who played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth and is the third Hughes brother who likely will be drafted in the top 10. Quinn was selected No. 7 by Vancouver, a year before Jack, a center, went No. 1 overall to New Jersey.

“(Luke) Hughes is a dynamic defenseman who takes control of the play with his exceptional skating and smarts,” Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting, said. “He has a quick read-and-react game and moves ultra-quick to gain the advantage and be on top of plays. Competes with his size and contributes responsibly in any situation. Capable of being a difference-maker.”

Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry has confirmed that his demon eyes were the result of him passing out while they were trying to reset his broken pinky finger, busting all the blood vessels in his eyes.

Maybe Tampa will come back down to earth when they have to get to the salary cap. 

The NHL and NHLPA are trying to finalize Olympic participation. During their media conference prior to Game 1 of the Final, commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly said they would honour their deal with players to go to Beijing in February 2022 — provided an agreement could be made with the International Olympic Committee.

You didn’t need to be a Negreanu-esque poker player to recognize they weren’t thrilled about it.

“We have real concerns about whether or not it’s sensible to be participating,” Bettman said.

For many elite-level players, especially those who haven’t been Olympians, this was a supreme downer.

“This might be the last chance I get, so it sucks to hear,” said Victor Hedman, who would lead Sweden’s defence.

“As players, we’re expecting to go,” added Connor McDavid, who may crack Canada’s top-nine. “We’re expecting the league to make that happen.”

One major hurdle is COVID-related insurance. What happens if a player misses time due to a COVID-related illness after the Olympics? From what I understand, only a small percentage of NHLers who would be participating are covered for that, and the NHL/NHLPA are being told this insurance is no longer available to be bought. My response was, surely some high-risk insurer would do it, albeit at a ridiculous price, but the answer is always, “No, they won’t accept that risk.” So, the question is how that is covered and who assumes it. (In 2014, the last time the NHL went to the Games, the International Olympic Committee paid the insurance costs, estimated at approximately $11 million U.S.)

The IOC knows the power of the rings. When I worked Olympics for CBC, it was almost without fail that our analysts proudly wore a ring with the logo or had the emblem tattooed somewhere on their body. Ask them about it, and you’d get a huge smile and lengthy discussion of the competition and/or the social life. There’s a magic in it and I loved hearing their stories.

NHL players are no different. According to multiple sources, the NHLPA has canvassed its membership since Bettman/Daly’s comments, and the response has been “we want to go.” Even if it is not the Olympics as we are used to.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that the IOC is asking competitors for the Summer Games, scheduled to begin in two weeks, sign waivers before competing. “I agree that I participate in the Games at my own risk and own responsibility,” it reads, “including any impact on my participation to and/or performance in the Games, serious bodily injury or even death, raised by the potential exposure to health hazards such as the transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious disease or extreme heat conditions… To the fullest extent admissible under applicable laws, I irrevocably release the Released Parties from any liability for any loss, injury, infectious disease or damage that I, or my property may suffer in relation to my participation in the Games.”

Personally, if I was covering the Olympics and got sick, I’d be expecting my employer to handle it, but that's not going to happen in this case. Players are going to have to accept that risk. And their answer, as things stand now, is, “We’re in.” I wondered if Jonathan Toews’ admission to The Athletic that he’s “probably” a COVID long-hauler might create some pause, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. He got it before vaccination was readily available in North America.

That’s why, whenever, the NHL schedule is released, I’d expect to see the Olympics on it. But — and this is a big “but” — I’d also expect in any closing negotiation with the IOC an understanding that if things take a turn for the worse in the days/weeks/months before February, there will be some kind of alternate or cancellation plan.

Eichel is damaged goods, I would pass on trading for him unless Erik Karlsson was included in the deal

There were rumours Jack Eichel backed away from the disc replacement surgery and would consider a fusion instead, but several sources refuted that. Not true. There was a time I thought a trade might happen sooner rather than later, but after the expansion draft looks more likely. Who’s in there? My guess is Anaheim, Calgary, Minnesota and Vegas, with Boston, the Rangers and possibly Los Angeles on the periphery.

Tough to read the Kings on this one. The Sabres are looking for youth. High-level prospects and picks. The complicating part is Buffalo’s been very careful with Eichel’s medical records. They want to make sure trading partners are serious before allowing access. That’s a little different than St. Louis, which has indicated it will make Vladimir Tarasenko’s available.

Hahahaha



Thanks to Nikita Kucherov, I learned something new. There’s a specific exemption for players to endorse “malt beverages” in the CBA. They can’t endorse other forms of alcohol. Is this still necessary? Seems archaic. As for his crazy post-game media availability, we can’t complain players are boring and then rip them when they aren’t. Laughed my head off, while also recognizing the Canadiens are going to hunt him down in their first meeting next season.


That was from Elliot Friedman

At least Montreal wasn't dumb enough to hire Pierre

from Bill Shea of The Athletic,



The numbers are in, and this is how it ends for the duo of NBC and hockey.



The network, which surrenders its National Hockey League broadcast rights to ESPN/ABC and Turner Sports next season, said Friday that the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game 5 Stanley Cup Final clincher over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday averaged 3.62 million U.S. viewers. That’s both TV and streaming.



The entire five-game series, which was mostly one-sided as Tampa Bay defended its title, averaged 2.52 million, the network said....



Still, with all that’s happened with live sports and the television industry over the past year-plus, NBC and the NHL got decent numbers for the finale of their business partnership....



It’s important to note that the league gets eyeballs and dollars north of the border, too (or south of it, if you live in downtown Detroit!).



This year’s series was the first Stanley Cup Final to include a Canadian team since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. And not surprisingly, Canadians tuned in to see the Habs in their first appearance in the Final since winning an NHL-record 24th championship in 1993.



The English-language Canadian broadcast on Sportsnet/CBC averaged 4.1 million for Game 5 and 3.6 million for the series.



more ($$$)



Really? Decent numbers? I would be pissed if I was a owner and they pulled those numbers. But I always thought the NBC product on the screen was a bush league operation. From the announcers to the game production they never really put that much effort into the game

BOINK




$18 Million over the salary cap can fix that