Islanders & NHL News: No Isles awards, draft looming

1 year ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Clean shirt, new shoes / And I don’t know where Josh is goin’ to | Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images


The league gets the awards out of the way, while the horse trading and cap maneuvers have begun. The NHL offseason is truly here! The 2023 NHL Draft begins tomorrow night (though the Isles have no pick that night) and continues Thursday morning in Nashville.
But first, the NHL had its awards night, also in Nashville, with few surprises.
Ilya Sorokin, who had a lot of wins on a mediocre team that depended on him, was the runner-up for the Vezina to Linus Ullmark, who had a lot of wins on a good team. Patrice Bergeron won the Selke. Erik Karlsson won the Norris Trophy because he racked up more points than any defenseman has in 31 years. Steve Stamkos was given some award that is both named after and selected by Mark Messier, which is somehow an official league award rather than an ESPN commercial gimmick.
Islanders News(ish)

Anyway, here are some snippets of Sorokin and Anders Lee at the awards in Nashville. [Isles]
And here is a basic primer on the draft, from the five-pick, no-first-rounder Isles perspective. [Isles]
A little more on Matt Maggio, possibly the next Isles prospect who will make the jump. [Post]
And another primer on the draft, pending free agents (no news on Scott Mayfield), and the prospect of Connor Hellebuyck’s free agency creating an uncomfortable floor for Sorokin’s next deal. [Athletic]

Elsewhere

Connor McDavid took home a bunch of awards, including his third Hart Trophy, one ballot shy of a unanimous decision. [TSN]
The Bruins have dumped Taylor Hall and the expiring Nick Foligno contract on the Blackhawks. [NHL | TSN] Could Boston be prepping to step in as a third team on the aborted Torey Krug / Kevin Hayes trade?

Here are some top free agent defensemen. [NHL] And here are some top free agent forwards, including a couple of Blues players who were dumped on high-profile teams that went nowhere. [NHL]
Erik Karlsson on how and why he wants the Sharks to deal him. [Sportsnet]
Oooh, “there’s gonna be some changes,” says long-time Flame Mikael Backlund, on the outgoing moves swirling around the team. [Sportsnet]
...

Read Full Article.