Happy Saturday, everyone! As of writing this, John Tavares has still not selected whom he will play with next season, though he does seem to have a few teams ranked above the others:
The Islanders, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs each made a presentation to Tavares during the NHL interview period that began Sunday. The report Friday said the Sharks and Maple Leafs remain the leading contenders, with the Islanders, to sign him.
If he is staying with the New York Islanders and wants the eight-year extension, he has to sign it today. If not, he officially becomes a free agent at midnight tonight. Keep your fingers crossed! [NHL]
Stars Stuff
Gerry Fraley spoke with Ty Dellandrea about the expectations that come with being a first-round pick. [SportsDayDFW]
No more Luds…:
Craig Ludwig will not be returning to his position of color analyst for Stars broadcasts. Daryl Reaugh will return as the team’s play-by-play announcer. https://t.co/bY4sGBFznw
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) June 29, 2018
Sean Shapiro dropped some knowledge about his takeaways from development camp:
Emptying the notebook from Stars development camp https://t.co/be7uOgbUUQ
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) June 29, 2018
Jamie Benn is feeling confident in his baseball game after getting that BP session in the other day at the Texas Rangers game:
I’d challenge @OBJ_3 to a homerun derby anyday!! @Yankees @Rangers @Giants @DallasStars
— Jamie Benn (@jamiebenn14) June 30, 2018
Around the League
Transaction update:
- The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed Valentin Zykov to a two-year deal. [NHL]
- The Florida Panthers agreed to terms with Frank Vatrano on a one-way one-year deal. [NHL]
- The Los Angeles Kings and Drew Doughty agreed on another eight-year extension, one that will (allegedly) make Doughty a very rich man (terms haven’t been released, but rumors indicate it’s around $11 million AAV). [NHL]
- The Islanders signed Seth Helgeson to a two-year extension. [CBS Sports]
- The Washington Capitals kept Michal Kempny from becoming a free agent and signed him to a four-year, $10 million deal. [NHL]/
The Capitals have hired Todd Reirden to replace Barry Trotz behind the bench. Reirden served under Trotz for four years behind the bench. The Hockey News coming in hot with the snark in this tweet:
Reirden named Capitals’ new coach, to the surprise of absolutely no one, writes @THNJaredClinton https://t.co/FlncctWsHe pic.twitter.com/cg1709uo9R
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 29, 2018
I’m an unabashed Roussel fan, but this seems like a bit of an overpay if it’s true:
I’m hearing Roussel with #Canucks could be a 4 year deal worth just a tad over 3 million dollars per season.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) June 29, 2018
And finally, Greg Wyshynski looks at how Doughty’s massive deal impacts the league:
Congrats to Drew Doughty. But, uh, now what? #NHL https://t.co/lHUp1OQ6Bx
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 30, 2018