Чөлөөт агент Крис Крайдер ирэх долоо хоногийн өмнө өөрийн шинэ багаа сонгохоор төлөвлөж байна.
Өдгөө 35 настай довтлогч Крис Крайдер Анахайм Дакс багтай хийсэн гэрээгээ цуцалсны дараа шинэ баг хайж байна. Тэрээр өөрийн жагсаалтад багтсан 3-4 багийн дундаас сонголтоо хийхээр төлөвлөж байгаа бөгөөд шийдвэрээ энэ амралтын өдрүүдэд багтаан гаргах төлөвтэй байна. Түүнийг авах сонирхолтой багууд олон байгаа ч тоглогчийн төлөөлөгчид зах зээлийн нөхцөлийг харгалзан үзэхийг уриалжээ.
Эдмонтон Ойлерс багийн шинэ дасгалжуулагч Майк Бэбкок гурван жилийн гэрээ байгуулсан бөгөөд гэрээнд нэмэлт нэг жилийн сонголт багтсан байна. Тэрээр Коннор Макдэвид, Леон Драйзайтль нарын удирдагчидтай ярилцсаны эцэст NHL-д эргэн ирэхээр болжээ. Мөн хаалгач Сергей Бобровский Торонто Мэйпл Лифс багтай 3 жилийн хугацаатай, жилийн 7 сая ам.долларын цалинтай гэрээ байгуулсан нь Флорида Пантерс багийн саналаас илүү гарсан байна.
Хоккейн ертөнц Барри Мелроуз болон Брент Петерсон нарыг алдсандаа харамсаж байна. Брент Петерсон нь Паркинсоны өвчинтэй 21 жилийн турш тэмцэн, сан байгуулан бусдад тусалж байсан бол Барри Мелроуз олон арван жилийн турш АНУ-д хоккейн нүүр царай болж явсан эрхэм юм. Мөн Торонто хотноо болсон Клифф Флетчерийн дурсгалыг хүндэтгэх ёслолд хоккейн ертөнцийн нөлөө бүхий олон хүн оролцож, түүний оруулсан хувь нэмрийг дурсан ярилцлаа.
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Chris Kreider is expected to make his decision on his next NHL team before the end of the weekend.
It could happen as early as before the end of Saturday, even.
He’s down to 3-4 teams on his list.
There has been serious interest in the 35-year-old UFA winger, who agreed to a mutual termination of his contract with the Anaheim Ducks (the team needed to open up salary cap space).
Kreider had one year left on his deal at a $6.5 million cap hit, but the actual cash left on the deal was only $4 million. Because of that, there were 4-5 teams that actually had interest in simply claiming him on waivers. But Kreider’s agents, Matt and Ryan Keator, strongly dissuaded those teams from doing so (with the obvious threat being that the player wouldn’t report).
Kreider wanted to make his own UFA market choice and didn’t want that decision taken away from him. Those teams were understanding of that. Boston, naturally, is among the potential fits for the Massachusetts native, but my understanding is that you could list every team that made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season as possibilities, as well as a few select teams in the West. Basically, the sense is that Kreider was keeping a pretty open mind with his options entering the weekend. But it’s getting to crunch time.
Which next gen superstars jumped the highest in the NHL player tiers?
Elsewhere around the NHL
• Teams are getting craftier at not divulging much information on coaching contracts, having figured out over the years that announcing exact term invites media speculation when a coach is entering his final season. So teams have been more general in announcing hires, as the Edmonton Oilers were when Mike Babcock was announced as head coach back on June 23. There was no announcement of how many years the contract was for. According to a person with direct knowledge of the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal details that are not public, it’s a three-year contract plus an option year for Babcock, who was happy in retirement. But his conversations with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and other Oilers leaders convinced him to come back behind the bench despite the controversy that ensued.
• There’s been much made of the fact that part of why Sergei Bobrovsky bolted from South Florida for Toronto is that the Toronto Maple Leafs offered him a full no-move clause throughout his deal, whereas the Florida Panthers did not. But it’s not as if the Panthers didn’t offer him any no-trade protection. My understanding is that Florida offered a full no-move in the first year of the proposed contract and then the same modified no-trade clause for Year 2 that he already had in the final two years of his previous contract with the Panthers, which was a 16-team no-trade list. At the end of the day, Bobrovsky chose three years and $7 million AAV from the Maple Leafs over the two-year deal from Florida at a $6 million AAV, which was certainly his right. I’m still amazed, despite the extra year, that it was enough to incentivize Bobrovsky to leave South Florida, where he loved it so much and won two Cups, in exchange for the kind of scrutiny that awaits him in hockey-mad Toronto. But I also think Bobrovsky will thrive in the Leafs’ net this season. I would have never bet on him leaving the Panthers even knowing the Leafs made a better offer. That one surprised me.
• It was a rough week in the hockey world with the losses of Barry Melrose and Brent Peterson. Peterson fought Parkinson’s for 21 years, incredibly, and raised awareness and funds with his Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s. Just a real thoughtful person I always enjoyed talking hockey with.
“When Brent was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 21 years ago, it could have been all about him,” said longtime Predators GM David Poile in a text message. “But it wasn’t, just as he was as a player, a coach. Or as your friend; he used (it) as an opportunity to help others. Brent was a very special person.”
“Lost a beautiful man today, it hurts,” Barry Trotz said Friday via text message.
Melrose, meanwhile, was the face of hockey in the U.S. for decades.
“The thing about playing for Barry is that it didn’t matter what age you were, how old you were,” said Wayne Gretzky. “From the rookies and young guys on that Kings team to the older guys, everyone got a fair shake under Barry if you could do the job. From the fourth liner to the backup goalie, everyone got treated with dignity by Barry. I can’t think of a single player who didn’t like playing for Barry.”
I was privileged to get to know him during my nine years at ESPN. Just the biggest heart one can imagine. Steak dinners during the Cup finals (he loved his steak very well done; I would call it the “catcher’s mitt”). Cigars postgame with Steve Levy and Scott Burnside. I have so many wonderful memories of just being in Melrose’s orbit. And the way hockey fans in the U.S. would react when they saw Barry — they were in shock. They were so darn excited to meet him. Barry never said no to a picture or a chat with fans, always accommodating and in a way that was genuine. RIP, Barry.
• I was honored to be part of the guests at Cliff Fletcher’s Celebration of Life on Friday night at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. It was a who’s who from the hockey world. The speeches and stories spoke to the man being remembered. Fletcher’s class and humility filled the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame. He touched so many lives. Wonderful speeches from his kids, Kristy Fletcher and Chuck Fletcher, and great stories from the likes of Scotty Bowman, David Poile, Kyle Dubas, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Lanny McDonald. The host of the event Friday, my TSN colleague Gord Miller, who was very close to Fletcher, knocked it out of the park. One thing I will always remember about Fletcher: He never carried himself like he had seen and known more hockey than anyone in the room he walked into. Because the truth is, he sure had. Instead, he always made you feel like you had told him something interesting; he always made you feel more positive about your day. I will cherish the dinners we had together, the hockey chats and yes, the bottles of red wine shared. You won’t ever be forgotten, Silver Fox.
