Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is reportedly looking to put pen to paper with a couple of pending free agents.
Holland has met with Newport group, which represents pending unrestricted free agent Mike Green, a player the team is interested in bringing back, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance.
Green is coming off his third season with the Red Wings, posting eight goals and 33 points in 66 games.
Holland has also met with Anthony Mantha's agent, Pat Brisson. They're reportedly nearing a bridge contract for the pending restricted free agent.
"I thought the meeting went well," Brisson said. "We obviously discussed some possibilities we're going to have to review together internally and we anticipate getting back to him probably within a week."
Mantha is coming off his entry-level deal and just finished his third year with the team, recording 24 goals and 48 points in 80 games - good enough for third in team scoring.
After a disappointing 2018 season, the Detroit Red Wings hold their highest draft pick at No. 6 overall since 1990, when they took Keith Primeau at No. 3.
But that doesn't mean the team isn't willing to deal the top-10 pick.
"I've started to talk to some teams about a lot," general manager Ken Holland said, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance. "As you work your way towards (host) Dallas at the draft, draft movement possibilities - I think at this stage in the game, everybody is kicking tires as to what might be out there.
"I'm open to possibly move."
Holland noted to Custance he has little desire to try to trade up in the draft, and with the team eyeing centers and defensemen - a position the draft has an abundance of - they wouldn't be opposed to moving down.
"We're also comfortable (doing nothing)," Holland said. "We're going to get a good player at six."
In all, the Red Wings will have 11 picks at June's draft, giving them plenty of opportunities to make trades or simply add to their prospect pool.
With his power-play marker in the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday night, Alex Ovechkin collected his first career goal in the Stanley Cup Final. It was a big achievement for arguably the purest goal-scorer going, but more importantly, it helped the Washington Capitals walk away with a series-tying win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The goal was a classic one-timer from the side of the net, but looking at the entire play, it becomes evident that the tally was the product of the Capitals exploiting the Golden Knights' blown coverage on the penalty kill.
The Golden Knights initially appeared to be in decent shape. As Nicklas Backstrom moved the puck to John Carlson at the point, Deryk Engelland (positioned in front of the net) made sure to get his stick in Ovechkin's shooting lane, anticipating a potential pass from Carlson.
Instead, the puck went to Backstrom, and Engelland shifted his focus to T.J. Oshie, who was positioned in the slot. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, it looks like all four of their skaters were trying to prevent the puck from getting to him.
While all the Vegas players were fixated on the puck, Ovechkin started sneaking toward the side of the goal.
The puck then went down low to Lars Eller. He quickly made a one-time, cross-ice pass to Ovechkin, leaving no time for Engelland to get his stick or body in position to block the pass.
Marc-Andre Fleury attempted to poke-check the puck, but missed, leaving him with a desperation pad save as his lone hope.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that Tomas Nosek wasn't covering Oshie or Ovechkin.
The pass got through. Ovechkin had moved down lower, and he isn't going to miss from there. Nosek finally noticed Ovechkin, but it was far too late.
The Capitals' power play has been the second-most lethal unit during the playoffs and Wednesday night it clicked once again. Eller stepped up, taking the spot usually occupied by the leading scorer of the playoffs, Evgeny Kuznetsov (who left the game in the first period with an injury).
As for the Golden Knights, next time, they might want to be sure they pay attention to the man with over 600 goals on his resume.
The news comes after the Tucson Roadrunners - the American Hockey League affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes - announced earlier in the day that Van Ryn was stepping down as the club's head coach to pursue an NHL job.
Roadrunners announce Mike Van Ryn to leave team to pursue NHL coaching opportunity.
— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) May 30, 2018
With the hiring of Van Ryn, the Blues also announced that former assistant coach Darryl Sydor has stepped down to spend more time with his family.
"After almost 30 years in professional hockey, I am confident that now is the right time to step away from the game," Sydor said in a release. "Hockey has given me more than I could have ever dreamed for, but my family is the most important thing in my life, and I want to focus all of my attention on them."
Van Ryn led the Roadrunners to a Pacific Division title this season after going 42-20-6. He previously served as head coach of the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2015-16 season.
Employees of Monumental Sports & Entertainment learned this (if they weren't already aware) Thursday when they received an email explaining that Leonsis was flying them out to Las Vegas to attend either Game 1 or 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
A selection of 200 of the roughly 500 employees of the company - those who work closely with the Capitals and those who hold seniority - were put up for one night at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino and received a ticket to one of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final with Leonsis footing the bill, according to Scott Allen of The Washington Post.
"It's truly amazing and out of this world," guest relations manager Omar Castro said. "I never expected an owner of the company to do this. We get to share in this with them. … He's thinking of us as part of a family, as part of the experience. There's no reason for him to do it. All I can say is a big thanks to Ted and his family for the opportunity, and for truly making this into something memorable for all of us here in the company."
The employees took a chartered flight early in the morning on either Monday or Wednesday and, as they boarded the plane, were given Capitals rally towels.
It's going to take a mighty fine offer to nab the No. 3 pick from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens own their highest draft selection since they took Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012. Speculation about trading high picks always ramps up as the draft approaches, but general manager Marc Bergevin maintained Tuesday that Montreal is unlikely to move its top selection.
When NHL.com's Mike Zeisburger asked why Bergevin remains reluctant to deal the selection for assets, the GM answered, "You pay a hefty price to get that pick.
"Obviously having the season we had, that's what gave us the right to pick that high. It's certainly not the goal when your season starts. ... So it's not a fun time for our fans to suffer the way they did this year, but we're going to get rewarded in Dallas with a pick we feel will make our team better in the long haul. That's the price to pay."
The Canadiens are coming off their worst 82-game season since the 2000-01 campaign when the club finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with 70 points.
Jonathan Toews would have liked to see his hometown team vie for a chance at the Stanley Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks captain's own club missed the playoffs for just the second time in his career and the first time since his rookie season in 2008. He admitted that though it pains him to see any other team lift the trophy, if he had to pick, he would have preferred the Winnipeg Jets to go the distance.
"I definitely don't want to see any team win the Cup," Toews told TSN's Kara Wagland. "I won't be happy to see someone else hoist it at the end of it all. But I was asked this question numerous times and being from Winnipeg, I think it would have been great for the city, and just knowing how passionate those fans are and how much they love the game. To see their team do well, I was secretly kind of rooting for them if I had to pick somebody."
The Jets came up short, losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.
Meanwhile, Toews remains confident that the Blackhawks will return to the playoffs next season.
"Absolutely," Toews said. "I think we all were disappointed and kind of shocked as to how the second half of our season went this year and we're all kind of feeling that sting pretty good. So I think everyone's going to be excited to bring their best hockey forward next year. We know that's the goal."
The 38-year-old hasn't played since Oct. 10, 2015 - the second game of an attempted comeback from a concussion suffered in January 2015.
His wife, Cissi Franzen, recently wrote a blog post about the struggles Johan and the family have endured as he continues to struggle with post-concussion syndrome.
He's been going thru an intensive treatment program at Marcus Brain Health Institute, and this last week was a family week where I joined in for a lot of sessions. He's still dealing with post-concussion syndrome, and the last months have been really bad. Something needed to happen and I'm so thankful we found this new amazing place. It opened up in March and they treat veterans and athletes with brain traumas. Johan was actually their very first athlete.
Cissi further detailed the hardships she and her husband faced during his time in treatment.
Living with a husband with a brain injury is not easy, it's like a rollercoaster. But I am doing my best to get us to a better place, not only for us and but also for our amazing boys that deserve the best.
While a return to the NHL for Johan seems improbable, he still has two years left on his 11-year, $43.5-million contract with the Red Wings. During his 602-game career, the Swedish forward has 187 goals and 370 points.
The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Petrus Palmu to a three-year, entry-level contract on Monday, the team announced.
The 20-year-old, who was drafted by the Canucks in the sixth round last year, is coming off his first season with TPS Turku of SM-liiga in Finland where he was named the league's Rookie of the Year.
In 59 games, Palmu notched 17 goals and 36 points, recording another six points in 11 playoff games. He also played four years of junior for the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League where he boasted an impressive 40 goals and 98 points in 62 games during his draft year.
The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to terms with free-agent defensemen David Sklenicka and Michal Moravcik on two-year entry-level contracts, the team announced on Monday.
The Czech pair will join the team after playing together with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. In 49 games, Sklenicka put up three goals and 14 points, while Moravcik tallied five goals and 16 points in 52 contests.
Both men also recently represented the Czech Republic at the World Championship, where they combined for five points in eight games.
