Goaltender Robin Lehner could reportedly jump from RFA to UFA before free agency opens.
The Buffalo Sabres aren't expected to offer the pending restricted free agent a qualifying offer as July 1 nears, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, leaving the club with a gaping hole between the pipes.
If Lehner leaves, Buffalo will be without an NHL goalie - although Linus Ullmark is expected to graduate from the AHL this fall. Chad Johnson, Lehner's backup this past season, is a UFA.
Barry Trotz appears confident he'll begin his first season as head coach of the New York Islanders with their franchise player leading the attack.
Asked about the John Tavares situation on a conference call, Trotz said he had a "great conversation" with the All-Star and believes his negotiations with the organization are in "great hands" with new president and GM Lou Lamoriello, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday.
Since last July 1, there has been rampant speculation on whether Tavares will hit the free-agent market or re-up with the Islanders on a long-term extension. It's still unclear which side he's leaning toward, but by hiring Lamoriello and Trotz, it's clear the Isles are doing everything they can to keep the 2009 No. 1 pick in orange and blue.
"I think what I know of Lou, what I know of John ... I felt strongly that once Lou gets with John ... Lou's going to execute a plan, a long-term plan that will be very successful so we can chase the Stanley Cup and win a Stanley Cup," Trotz added.
While LeBrun notes the Hurricanes would like to re-sign Lindholm, teams are still inquiring about a potential trade involving the 2013 NHL draft's fifth overall pick. "He is a player to monitor," LeBrun wrote.
'Canes general manager Don Waddell and Lindholm's agent Peter Wallen are expected to chat on Friday at the NHL draft, LeBron adds. However, at this point, talks have not progressed.
Lindholm, a 23-year-old from Boden, Sweden, is looking for his third NHL contract. He registered 45 and 44 points in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively, on a two-year, $5.4-million deal.
The Hurricanes, whose new owner Tom Dundon has been open about his desire to determine the trade value of his players, have also reportedly gauged interest in sniper Jeff Skinner and top-four defenseman Justin Faulk.
Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion traded away forward Mike Hoffman for the sake of his team, he told reporters Thursday.
"Trading Mike Hoffman was something we needed to do, our dressing room was broken" Dorion said, per TSN. "We have to have a dressing room that wants to win together."
Dorion made the move after Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson and his wife, Melinda, filed a peace bond against Hoffman's fiancee, Monika Caryk, for allegedly harassing the two on social media over a lengthy period of time.
Milan Lucic - and his massive contract - may be staying put, Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli told reporters on Thursday.
Lucic, who posted just 34 points in 82 games this past season, has been the subject of trade rumours, in large part due to an albatross contract which still owes the power forward $30 million over the next five years. However, Chiarelli says his confidence level in Lucic is "pretty high."
"I think Milan’s a pretty high-character individual. He has to have a good summer," the GM said in Dallas ahead of the NHL draft. "Really, conditioning for him is not really an issue. He has to be in the right frame of mind. He’s a proud guy and we expect to have him back at a better level than he was last year.”
Asked if Lucic has requested a trade out of Edmonton, Chiarelli was tight-lipped: "I'm not going to comment on that."
Since signing with the Oilers in 2015 via free agency, Lucic has recorded 33 goals and 51 assists for 84 points in 164 games. He previously played for the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli isn't married to the club's first-round pick.
Ahead of the first round of the NHL draft on Friday, the team has discussed trading its 10th overall selection.
"We would look to move the pick if the right player is available," Chiarelli told reporters. "I've had some discussions with some teams."
"There's been a lot of chatter this week and we've been involved in the chatter," Chiarelli added. "We'll see where it goes."
If Edmonton does elect to keep its first-round selection, Chiarelli says he plansto pick the best player available, even if outside wisdom suggests the team should use it on a defenseman.
Keeping the selection would also mark the ninth time in the last 11 years that the Oilers have picked in the top 10.
The Edmonton Oilers have placed Eric Gryba on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract, the team announced Thursday.
The right-handed defenseman had one year left on a two-year, $1.8-million contract signed last summer. According to CapFriendly.com, the move will save Edmonton $300,000, as only $600,000 of Gryba's final year can be slashed from the club's payroll.
Gryba appeared in 21 games for the Oilers this past season, recording two assists while skating for nearly 15 minutes per night. The six-year veteran was acquired in a June 2015 trade with his original NHL team, the Ottawa Senators.
The 30-year-old posted a farewell video to his official Twitter account shortly after the Oilers went public with the transaction:
The New York Islanders and Barry Trotz are closing in on an agreement that would see the free agent become the team's new head coach, sources tell TSN's Darren Dreger.
The deal is believed to be for five years with an annual average of at least $4 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
There are two certainties heading into the NHL draft Friday night in Dallas.
The first is that Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin will be selected first overall. The second is that a Canadian-born player likely won’t hear his name called until at least the fifth overall selection. The first Canadian player taken is expected to be either one of two defencemen: Evan Bouchard of the London Knights, or Noah Dobson of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
If the consensus holds true, it will mark the longest wait for a Canadian player to go off the board in 19 years. And it comes at a time when more American and Swedish-born players have been taken, particularly high in the opening round, over the past few years. The current cycle is reminiscent of a trend between 1999 and 2001 before Canadian players began to numerically dominate again.
“Drafts are, by nature, cyclical,” said Red Line Report chief scout Kyle Woodlief. “When you have to start to adjust your thinking is when cycles become a trend.”
Woodlief, a native Montrealer who now lives and operates his independent scouting newsletter out of Lake Placid, N.Y., was clear that he sees no serious issues with Canadian hockey that have negatively impacted the draft position of the country’s players.
Woodlief said the expected results this weekend in Dallas are simply a reflection of Dahlin being an exceptional talent along with Russian Andrei Svechnikov, Czech Filip Zadina, and a couple of Americans led by Brady Tkachuk.
Another factor is that the overall quality of this year’s draft is thought to be average at best. Other countries, particularly the U.S., are challenging Canada’s numerical dominance, but it’s also happening during a year when the whole exercise is not expected to produce a highly talented crop of future NHL stars, or even stalwarts.
“Overall, Canada doesn’t have a Connor McDavid, or a Steven Stamkos, that we started to get used to for awhile,” said Woodlief. “But overall, there is still going to be a lot of Canadian players drafted all through the draft. But really, the draft is really just an average crop this year.”
Hockeyprospect.com chief scout Mark Edwards has watched Americans churn out more players, and points out that the current cycle has another year to run.
“There is no doubt that Americans are producing more players, and the team they have coming from their (U-18 program) next year is going to be even better,” said Edwards, in reference to the 2019 draft class topped by American whiz kid Jack Hughes. “It’s just been a down year for the (Canadian junior leagues).”
Canada has had 12 players selected in the first round each of the past three years, a number that is down from 14 (2012), 18 (2013), and 14 (2014) in the previous three drafts. By comparison, working backward since last year, the Americans have had five, 11, and seven selected in the first round. The Swedes had four first-rounders last year in New Jersey, and four more in the opening rounds between 2016 (one) and 2015 (three). Finland, after some down years, has also produced several first-round picks since 2015, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi could poke ahead of any Canadian taken Friday night.
Parsing the numbers at the top-end further, this year’s draft in Dallas is shaping up to be somewhat like Buffalo two years ago, when players from five different countries were selected in the opening round, highlighted by American Auston Matthews at No. 1. Pierre-Luc Dubois, who finished eighth in the Calder Trophy balloting with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was the first Canadian player taken at No. 3.
Assessing overall drafted players can be a mugs’ game, as less than half ever play in the NHL, but in terms of overall players selected since 2012, Canadians have peaked at 100 (both 2012 and 13), while leveling off in the 80s since. During the same span, the U.S. had as many as 64 players taken (2014), to as few as 47 (2017).
Here's the upshot of all the numbers and anecdotal analysis: Canada still produces the most players at virtually every discernable level - first-rounders, overall players drafted, and players cracking NHL rosters in their early-20s, but the Americans are closing the gap - and some would say rapidly.
Consider this point: when the World Cup of Hockey was played two years ago in Toronto, the Young Stars (Under-23) team had more American-born players on it than Canadians, though that number was effectively evened out by Sean Couturier, who was born in the U.S. but considers himself to be Canadian after moving back “home” as a young kid.
Beyond that, an across-the-board Under-23 list now would likely have just as many American names on it (and perhaps more) and quite a few Swedes and Finns, too.
Woodlief, along with a handful of other NHL-connected people consulted over the past six weeks, say the Americans have simply woken up to the presence of hockey being played in all corners of their country.
This type of organic growth will be on display at the draft in Dallas Friday night.
“I think what you’re seeing is the population monster at work,” said Woodlief. “When you have 330 million people and the game is played in so many different markets, you’re going to see participation numbers (spike) … I think that was (evident) with Matthews two years ago.”
Woodlief is referring to Matthews developing into a generational talent in the desert climate of Arizona while growing up in the Phoenix area. In addition, it is now common to see American players born in Florida, California, and Texas getting drafted and eventually appearing on NHL rosters.
If there is some disquiet from a Canadian perspective, it’s that elite hockey development has narrowed the gap. A former NHL executive speaking on background said the evolution of the game has turned into a year-round pursuit, and that developing young hockey players has now become an elite sport. It requires immense financial and time commitment from the parents of young players to put their kids into elite programs, a fact of life for American families for decades.
“We are now competing with Americans on level ground,” said the executive, who has had a hand in running two different NHL clubs. “Americans have always had to spend huge money to keep their kids in hockey, now we run programs all year round (in much the same way). You’ll never win that battle because the U.S. will eventually out-resource you.”
Edwards, whose background includes coaching in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, says that Canada could also do well to keep an eye on Sweden and Finland.
“I think you need to ask yourself, how come (Sweden) and the Finns are producing these guys as well … what is it they are doing that Canada isn’t?”
