In case you missed it last night, the Los Angeles Kings earned themselves a tidy 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on home ice, looking more and more like a playoff ready team.
The Kings have secured a playoff spot and the Canucks have officially been eliminated from contention, so there’s not much left for these teams to play for but don’t tell that to lightweights Sheldon Dries and Sean Durzi. The two squared off and went toe to toe at center ice in one of the best fights of the entire regular season.
Check it out:
Just trading rights like they’re Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots!
John Tavares, possibly the most hated man in New York Islanders’ history, may have just saved the Islanders’ 2022-23 season.
You see, the Islanders are in a cut throat battle with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins and need all the help they can get from those teams’ competitors. Enter: Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You see, the Islanders already dropped a decision to the Washington Capitals this evening when the Panthers entered OT tied 1-1 with the Leafs. If the Panthers could earn an extra point with an OT or shootout victory then they would have officially clinched the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
But… Tavares made sure that would happen for his old team:
And just like that the Islanders have some life breathed into them thanks to their former captain.
The Ottawa Senators have struggled mightily this season, following an offseason in which it looked like the team was ready to take a step forward, they’ve fallen flat on their face.
Senators GM Pierre Dorion added goaltender Cam Talbot and forwards Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat to his core this past offseason, but it hasn’t been enough to turn the tide. So… what’s next?
DeBrincat is scheduled to become a restricted free agent and is due an insane $9 million qualifying offer in order to retain his rights. This means that if the Sens want to hang on to DeBrincat’s rights and not risk losing him for nothing as a free agent, then they’ll need to buck up at least $9 million annually. Yikes…
I like DeBrincat as much as anyone else, but I don’t think he’s worth $9 million per season. So… what do the Sens do? Do they qualify him and risk inking him to a bloated contract? Do they trade him elsewhere and move on?
Not a chance says Dorion.
Today Dorion announced that the team will qualify DeBrincat at $9 million even if they can’t come to terms on a long-term contract.
Again, I like DeBrincat but $9 million annually is a HEFTY price tag…
Just yesterday the Toronto Maple Leafs signed top prospect Matthew Knies from the NCAA’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s a big signing for a big name prospect and it deserves recognition, but the team arguably made a much more impactful signing today that isn’t receiving near the attention.
Because the Leafs have signed Knies and have inserted him into their roster, they no longer have the cap space to call up goaltender Joseph Woll from the AHL. This means that Ilya Samsonov will be backed up this evening by a beer leaguer on an amateur tryout.
To be fair to Nick Chenard, he’s much better than your typical beer league goalie, but he’s still nowhere near NHL level… or even AHL level. The 21 year old is a former OHL netminder who aged out of the league following this past season. Again, nothing against him and I honestly hope he gets to live out his NHL dreams… but this entire scenario seems like a bit of a farce to me.
I mean… the NHL will prop up a franchise the the Arizona Coyotes, a franchise who is doing everything they possible can to get under the NHL’s salary floor. There’s no punishment for the Coyotes… but the Leafs, a team who is consistently at the top of NHL’s highest salaried teams, has to dress a minor leaguer for cap reasons.
Call me crazy, but I think there’s got to be a better way for the NHL to go about things. Personally, I think every team should be required to carry three goaltenders at all times. I love a good David Ayres or Scott Foster story as much as the next guy, but it’s pretty ‘bush league’ that things have to come to this. I mean, could you ever see the NFL, NBA or MLB allowing a team to sign a beer league accountant or a Zamboni driver take to the playing surface? Not a chance…
But in Gary Bettman’s NHL we get weird, random little things like this that pop up all the time to remind us just how much the NHL actually cares about the sport that it pretends to champion.
UPDATE: The Leafs have officially recalled goaltender Joseph Woll from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. It’s expected that he’ll be permitted by the NHL to play this evening under emergency circumstances.
Read below for our earlier report on this developing story.
Earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs signed top prospect Matthew Knies from the NCAA’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s a big signing for a big name prospect and it deserves recognition, but the team arguably made a much more impactful signing yesterday that isn’t receiving near the attention.
Because the Leafs have signed Knies and have inserted him into their roster, they no longer have the cap space to call up goaltender Joseph Woll from the AHL. This meant that last night Ilya Samsonov was backed up this evening by a beer leaguer on an amateur tryout.
To be fair to Nick Chenard, he’s much better than your typical beer league goalie, but he’s still nowhere near NHL level… or even AHL level. The 21 year old is a former OHL netminder who aged out of the league following this past season. Again, nothing against him and I honestly hope he gets to live out his NHL dreams… but this entire scenario seems like a bit of a farce to me.
What do the Leafs do tonight for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning? Do they go back to Samsonov? They can’t playy Chenard as he signed a one day amateur tryout. What’s the play?
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman:
What an absolute joke…
I mean… the NHL will prop up a franchise the the Arizona Coyotes, a franchise who is doing everything they possible can to get under the NHL’s salary floor. There’s no punishment for the Coyotes… but the Leafs, a team who is consistently at the top of NHL’s highest salaried teams, has to dress a minor leaguer for cap reasons.
Call me crazy, but I think there’s got to be a better way for the NHL to go about things. Personally, I think every team should be required to carry three goaltenders at all times. I love a good David Ayres or Scott Foster story as much as the next guy, but it’s pretty ‘bush league’ that things have to come to this. I mean, could you ever see the NFL, NBA or MLB allowing a team to sign a beer league accountant or a Zamboni driver take to the playing surface? Not a chance…
But in Gary Bettman’s NHL we get weird, random little things like this that pop up all the time to remind us just how much the NHL actually cares about the sport that it pretends to champion.
Earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs signed top prospect Matthew Knies from the NCAA’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s a big signing for a big name prospect and it deserves recognition, but the team arguably made a much more impactful signing yesterday that isn’t receiving near the attention.
Because the Leafs have signed Knies and have inserted him into their roster, they no longer have the cap space to call up goaltender Joseph Woll from the AHL. This meant that last night Ilya Samsonov was backed up this evening by a beer leaguer on an amateur tryout.
To be fair to Nick Chenard, he’s much better than your typical beer league goalie, but he’s still nowhere near NHL level… or even AHL level. The 21 year old is a former OHL netminder who aged out of the league following this past season. Again, nothing against him and I honestly hope he gets to live out his NHL dreams… but this entire scenario seems like a bit of a farce to me.
What do the Leafs do tonight for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning? Do they go back to Samsonov? They can’t playy Chenard as he signed a one day amateur tryout. What’s the play?
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman:
What an absolute joke…
I mean… the NHL will prop up a franchise the the Arizona Coyotes, a franchise who is doing everything they possible can to get under the NHL’s salary floor. There’s no punishment for the Coyotes… but the Leafs, a team who is consistently at the top of NHL’s highest salaried teams, has to dress a minor leaguer for cap reasons.
Call me crazy, but I think there’s got to be a better way for the NHL to go about things. Personally, I think every team should be required to carry three goaltenders at all times. I love a good David Ayres or Scott Foster story as much as the next guy, but it’s pretty ‘bush league’ that things have to come to this. I mean, could you ever see the NFL, NBA or MLB allowing a team to sign a beer league accountant or a Zamboni driver take to the playing surface? Not a chance…
But in Gary Bettman’s NHL we get weird, random little things like this that pop up all the time to remind us just how much the NHL actually cares about the sport that it pretends to champion.
Earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs signed top prospect Matthew Knies from the NCAA’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s a big signing for a big name prospect and it deserves recognition, but the team arguably made a much more impactful signing yesterday that isn’t receiving near the attention.
Because the Leafs have signed Knies and have inserted him into their roster, they no longer have the cap space to call up goaltender Joseph Woll from the AHL. This meant that last night Ilya Samsonov was backed up this evening by a beer leaguer on an amateur tryout.
To be fair to Nick Chenard, he’s much better than your typical beer league goalie, but he’s still nowhere near NHL level… or even AHL level. The 21 year old is a former OHL netminder who aged out of the league following this past season. Again, nothing against him and I honestly hope he gets to live out his NHL dreams… but this entire scenario seems like a bit of a farce to me.
What do the Leafs do tonight for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning? Do they go back to Samsonov? They can’t playy Chenard as he signed a one day amateur tryout. What’s the play?
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman:
What an absolute joke…
I mean… the NHL will prop up a franchise the the Arizona Coyotes, a franchise who is doing everything they possible can to get under the NHL’s salary floor. There’s no punishment for the Coyotes… but the Leafs, a team who is consistently at the top of NHL’s highest salaried teams, has to dress a minor leaguer for cap reasons.
Call me crazy, but I think there’s got to be a better way for the NHL to go about things. Personally, I think every team should be required to carry three goaltenders at all times. I love a good David Ayres or Scott Foster story as much as the next guy, but it’s pretty ‘bush league’ that things have to come to this. I mean, could you ever see the NFL, NBA or MLB allowing a team to sign a beer league accountant or a Zamboni driver take to the playing surface? Not a chance…
But in Gary Bettman’s NHL we get weird, random little things like this that pop up all the time to remind us just how much the NHL actually cares about the sport that it pretends to champion.
According to a report from NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Skyler Brind’Amour, the son of former NHLer and current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, has informed the Edmonton Oilers that he will NOT be signing with the team and will be testing the open market as a free agent.
Gee… I wonder where he’ll end up…
The 23 year old center recently finished up his NCAA career with a national championship, winning the Frozen Four with Quinnipiac University earlier this week. He put up a stellar 14 goals and 32 points in 41 games this past season.
It’s painfully obvious to just about everyone that Brind’Amour will be signing with his father’s Hurricanes once he becomes a free agent on August 15th. After all, his Dad is an icon in Carolina and Skyler himself was born and raised in Raleigh. This makes sense on so many levels. Don’t take it personally, Oilers fans…
According to a report from NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Skyler Brind’Amour, the son of former NHLer and current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, has informed the Edmonton Oilers that he will NOT be signing with the team and will be testing the open market as a free agent.
Gee… I wonder where he’ll end up…
The 23 year old center recently finished up his NCAA career with a national championship, winning the Frozen Four with Quinnipiac University earlier this week. He put up a stellar 14 goals and 32 points in 41 games this past season.
It’s painfully obvious to just about everyone that Brind’Amour will be signing with his father’s Hurricanes once he becomes a free agent on August 15th. After all, his Dad is an icon in Carolina and Skyler himself was born and raised in Raleigh. This makes sense on so many levels. Don’t take it personally, Oilers fans…
The Boston Bruins are playing what would normally be a relatively meaningless game with their spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs already secured, but this is turning into a memorable night for the Bruins nonetheless.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak has hit a major milestone with his 60th goal of the regular season and has done so in epic fashion, recording a hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.
