Wow! Seattle Kraken Sign FA Goalie Philipp Grubauer, Vezina trophy finalist and former starter for Colorado Avalanche. Guess saving all that cap space in the expansion draft is being put to good use. Obviously, they liked the Veags model of having a veteran goaltender to lead/stabilize thie first year team. I'm sure they will be very interesting to play this year...in fact, that first game looks more exciting now!
Golden Knights have their backup goalie to team with Lehner after trading away Fleury; signed G Laurent Brossoit to a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2.325MM.
Also winger Evgenii Dadonov is heading to the strip from the Senators. That should help the scoring issues on the Power Play we saw in the playoffs.
And, Sven Baertschi comes from the Canucks with a one-year two-way contract at the league minimum $750K that could pay dividends if Vegas can get him going at the NHL level.
Still wouldn't put an Eichel signing past them yet, as Vegas has been known to squeeze every bit of wiggle room out of the cap and is willing to maneuver to get better, but that's a chunk of change there already, and they've used up a lot of the cap space they gained by essentially letting Fleury go for very little.
(07-28-2021 05:35 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote: Not sure what the Canes master game plan is right now considering all these moves over the last few days...
you wanna elaborate more specifically on which players you're not sure of (and any you like)?
As expected, the Washington Capitals re-upped Alex Ovechkin. He announced his own extension, which will total $47.5MM over five years ($9.5MM AAV). He has spent his entire career in Washington and was not really expected to sign anywhere else.
(07-28-2021 05:35 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote: Not sure what the Canes master game plan is right now considering all these moves over the last few days...
you wanna elaborate more specifically on which players you're not sure of (and any you like)?
After the season was over vibes were:
Dougie priority to resign...
Probably losing one goalie.... lost two and Reimer was the least likely to still be around ...
Bean was considered solid....
I haven't been sold on who is coming into the fold....
The hockey world is in mourning again today, as it says goodbye to one of its own. Tony Esposito has passed away at the age of 78 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The Chicago Blackhawks announced the news with a long letter to the Esposito family from team chairman Rocky Wirtz.
Upon his retirement in 1984, Esposito went down as one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play in the NHL. Only 12 men in the history of the game have won the Vezina Trophy at least three times, and Esposito was one of them, taking home the award in 1970, 1972 and 1974. Though he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, he will always be remembered as a member of the Blackhawks. He is the franchise leader in games played, wins, saves, and shutouts. He won the Calder Trophy in 1970 as the league’s best rookie, was a five-time NHL All-Star, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. He was named to the list of 100 Greatest NHL players in 2017.
It wasn’t just his success, but the flair and style of how Esposito stopped the puck that created so many fans across the hockey world. Though he entered front offices including the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning in retirement, his connection to Chicago was for life. In 2016 at the Winter Classic, it was Esposito who served as coach of the Blackhawks alumni team taking on the St. Louis Blues.
(08-13-2021 08:53 AM)Bronco14 Wrote: I've never seen expansion teams hyped nationally like Vegas & Seattle were/are
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they also gave them some of the most favorable rules for the expansion draft.
Vegas made it to the finals in their first year and it's looking like Seattle will be pretty loaded as well.
The expansion Seattle Kraken will play their first game as they travel to Las Vegas to take on the league's other recent expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights! How's that for hype? Crack the Kraken!
(08-13-2021 08:53 AM)Bronco14 Wrote: I've never seen expansion teams hyped nationally like Vegas & Seattle were/are
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they also gave them some of the most favorable rules for the expansion draft.
Vegas made it to the finals in their first year and it's looking like Seattle will be pretty loaded as well.
You're right. Some of it is the NHL just learning from past mistakes, plus really wanting
these franchises to succeed, but IMO it comes off as bush gifting them.
Both SEA & VEG should dominate the league for the next decade or so, minimum.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2021 12:48 PM by Bronco'14.)
Waiting for an official article to pop up but it appears that for the upcoming season the NHL will allow sponsorship badges on jerseys ala the NBA the last few years.... I haven't seen the particulars yet...
(08-17-2021 04:34 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote: Waiting for an official article to pop up but it appears that for the upcoming season the NHL will allow sponsorship badges on jerseys ala the NBA the last few years.... I haven't seen the particulars yet...
(08-17-2021 04:34 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote: Waiting for an official article to pop up but it appears that for the upcoming season the NHL will allow sponsorship badges on jerseys ala the NBA the last few years.... I haven't seen the particulars yet...
This is what I saw...
Not a fan but not the end of the world either.
I think this is a pure and simple money losses recouping move by the NHL. I don't like it, especially considering the ad space they put around the boards of the rink and in spots on the ice.... and it appears in telecasts they can superimpose ads too on the glass. I didn't like it when the NBA did it either FWIW.
![[Image: GettyImages-85762266.jpg]](https://media.nbcchicago.com/2021/08/GettyImages-85762266.jpg)
