Morning Hockey Thoughts
from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,
- It’s foolish to guess what Lou Lamoriello is up to, but there is increased chatter around Semyon Varlamov. One more year, $5M cap hit, $4M cash. His no-trade covers half the NHL. Teams are petrified of admitting they’re talking to the Islanders. If it happens, I’m not convinced it will be Edmonton.
- There is clear mutual interest to continue the Dallas/Joe Pavelski marriage. Teams are expecting him to stay, and why would anyone want to leave Jason Robertson? San Jose continues to make a hard push on Tomas Hertl, they’re not fooling around. During his weekly radio hit on ESPN 102.5 in Nashville Predators’ GM David Poile said there’s “nothing new” to report on Filip Forsberg. Several sources indicated not to count out St. Louis’s interest when it comes to Claude Giroux, as we’ve mostly been mentioning Colorado and Florida.
- One GM’s theory: “We all stare at each other until one hour before the deadline, and then rush to make deals. The B- and C-level players go when we figure out who is getting the A-listers.” I hope he’s joking.
- Danny DeKeyser was placed on injured reserve by Detroit after clearing waivers on Tuesday. One of the best free-agent stories I ever heard was about him. One of the teams pursuing DeKeyser finished dinner at a restaurant with him and asked for directions. He said, “Follow me, I’m headed that way.” Team knew it wasn’t winning this recruitment when it saw the defenceman’s licence plate had a Red Wings logo.
- Connor McDavid is the second NHLer, after Auston Matthews, to sign with a wagering company as a brand ambassador. Just like he followed Wayne Gretzky to Edmonton, he followed Gretzky to BetMGM — although McDavid is the first active athlete on their roster. No financials released, but it’s a big deal, in the seven figures. One major difference: Matthews stayed with free-to-play, while McDavid didn’t shy away from paid options. Eli and Peyton Manning do “responsible gambling” commercials as part of their sponsorship deal, and McDavid will do similar. (As you can imagine, it won’t be a time-consuming thing while the Oilers chase the playoffs.)
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