Midweek Wrap-Up
By JV
The NHL is at a standstill again. After the flurry of action that saw Rick Nash moved to the Rangers and Alexander Semin signed by the Carolina Hurricanes Hurricanes, there’s been very little offered up by the NHL in the way of news. Shane Doan is the biggest name remaining in the FA market, and it appears that he’s just doing some sightseeing in cities like Manhattan and Chicago (on the opposing teams’ expense accounts) all while waiting for the Coyotes to sort out their ownership woes so that he can resign in the desert.
With that in mind, here’s what’s been making news around the NHL over the last couple of weeks.
JETS NEWS
–Evander Kane remains unsigned, and Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that Kane should Take What’s On The Table. As Lawless points out, considering the current CBA situation, today’s deal is likely better than what will come after the new collective bargaining agreement is signed. It’s possible that Kane is hoping to sign an offer sheet to add dollars and/or years to his contract. In all likeliness any offer sheet signed by Kane would be matched by the Jets.
-Over at Hockey Buzz Peter Tessier suggests that Kane’s new deal should look a bit more like the one that Jeff Skinner just signed. Where the Canes will pay Skinner $5.75M for the six seasons following his entry-level contract, Kane is being asked to sign on for about $4.83M.
–Larry Simmons has been promoted from “assistant to the GM” to “Assistant GM.” Though the difference is mostly rhetorical, True North and Kevin Cheveldayoff are sufficiently impressed with Simmons’ work to drop “to the” from his official title. Simmons was working with Thrashers when the team moved to Winnipeg last year.
–Charges against Dustin Byfuglien have been dropped. The Jets’ defenseman struck a plea bargain in his Minneapolis courtroom. Byfuglien was fined $1, 000 for careless boating, while the impaired boating charge was dropped
–Mark Flood is heading to the KHL. Flood was looking for a one-way NHL contract and when none was forthcoming he signed a one-year deal to play for Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Flood would have been battling with Paul Postma, Derek Meech and Zach Redmond for the sixth and seventh Jets’ defensemen.
–The Jets have extended their affiliation with the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps for one more year. Both teams sold out every home game last year.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
-The Carolina Hurricanes remain the busiest team of the offseason. Jeff Skinner has signed a 6-year $34.35M to stick with the retooled Canes. The ’10-’11 Calder Trophy winner has one year remaining on his entry-level deal.
-The New York Islanders have signed Griffin Reinhart, the 4th overall pick in the June draft, to an entry-level contract.
-The Toronto Maple Leafs have Morgan Rielly, 2012’s 5th overall selection, to an entry-level contract.
-The Stanley Cup champion Kings have signed their 2012 first round pick, Tanner Pearson, to an entry-level contract.