NHL & Islanders News: Qualifying offers and buyout season is upon us

1 year ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Not a retirement ceremony... | Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images


The Cup hangover begins, the business of the pre-cottage offseason commences. With the Stanley Cup finally awarded, the pre-cottage NHL offseason sprint begins. That means qualifying offers will be going out, the first buyout window opens Friday, and the draft and free agency are around the corner.
Islanders News
So those important dates are coming up. The Islanders don’t have any fascinating “qualify, or not to qualify” decisions but Samuel Bolduc and Oliver Wahlstrom are among the RFAs who need one. (So is Bode Wilde, but...)

Anyway, here are some of the important dates, and musing whether a buyout would be used on Josh Bailey (nice in theory, but really costly) or Cal Clutterbuck (not a chance). [THN]
The Flyers got right to it with qualifying offers, and Kieffer Bellows was not among them. [THN]

More leftovers from the Vegas Cup:

Phil Kessel, who was scratched for most of the playoffs, but who intends to play somewhere next season, chuckled and slapped a Toronto jukebox reporter on the back: “Now I’m a three-time champion.” So take that, Taranna media. [Sportsnet]
It wasn’t so long ago that Alex Pietrangelo took a leave of absence and thought he might be giving up his career while his daughter faced a sudden and scary illness. And there she was, dancing and smiling in his arms as he celebrated the Cup Tuesday night. [NHL]
The Knights proved historically great at even strength, which is always important, but increasingly important as refs put their whistles away (except for puck-over-the-glass calls that require no thought nor discretion). [TSN]
Bourne on the useful, and useless, lessons from the Knights and Panthers’ run to the Cup final. [Sportsnet]

Elsewhere

The Penguins have hired Kyle Dubas’ recent running mate, Jason Spezza, as assistant GM. (Mind you, they don’t technically have a GM to assist yet. President Dubas is playing that “interim” role.) Spezza resigned the day the Leafs let Dubas go. [Sportsnet | TSN]
Here are the top 10 left wingers in the draft, according to some people. [NHL]
The Knights proved historically great at even strength, which is always important, but increasingly important as refs put their whistles away (except for puck-over-the-glass calls that require no thought nor discretion). [TSN]
The Blue Jackets, who will welcome Mike Babcock out of deep freeze to coach their team, have named former NHL goalie Niklas (no “c”) Backstrom (one “c” like the children’s book, Babar) as their goalie coach. [TSN]
Here’s a Vegas guy who left journalism almost 10 years ago, then got a chance to do some freelancing for the NHL site this season and, well, good timing there.


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