The first big free agent re-signing with his own team is just the beginning of what’s to come around the NHL.
Defenseman John Carlson signed a $64 million http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-anthony-averett-jersey , eight-year deal with the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. His agent and the representatives for other pending unrestricted free agents were able to start talking to any interested teams on Sunday at the beginning of the negotiating window that precedes the opening of the market July 1.
Serious talks between New York Islanders center John Tavares and five suitors begin Monday in what should be the next step in shaking out signings and trades.
”There’s going to be a lot happening,” Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said Saturday in Dallas.
”Things have sort of been at a standstill around the league, but I think with the free agent market being opened up to be able to have discussions with the agents, that will help, as well. Once you talk, you have an idea that you’re going to be able to get a free agent or if you won’t, then it might sort of move some teams to start looking at potential trades.”
Only a handful of current NHL players were traded over the weekend at the draft: four in a swap between Carolina and Calgary and Washington sending two to Colorado to clear salary-cap space to re-sign Carlson. Montreal could still try to trade captain Max Pacioretty this week, and Hurricanes GM Don Waddell wants to make a move for a goaltender and said there’s a lot of interest in winger Jeff Skinner.
”We have a lot of other possibilities, pieces to move around,” Waddell said.
Tavares headlines this free agent class and his decision – reportedly among the Sharks, Maple Leafs, Stars, Bruins, Lightning Taijuan Walker Jersey , incumbent Islanders and perhaps a few more teams – could set up the rest of the market.
Paul Stastny is the next-best free agent center available followed by the likes of Tyler Bozak, Derek Ryan and Tomas Plekanec. Teams that don’t land one of them could turn to Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who may be a better candidate to be traded July 2 after the Sabres pay him a $7.5 million bonus.
At $8 million a year, Carlson ties Brent Burns for the second-highest cap hit in the league among defenseman behind only P.K. Subban’s $9 million with Nashville. Agent Rick Curran fielded calls from other teams Sunday before the deal got done with the Capitals.
”Whatever your intentions are, you still have to do your due diligence because there’s more to it for me than that,” Carlson said Monday in Arlington, Virginia. ”I was hoping we could get something done and it worked itself out.”
The Sharks are worth watching after they shed Mikkel Boedker’s $4 million salary to clear cap space and watched as Ilya Kovalchuk signed with Los Angeles on a three-year, $18.75 million deal. After saying San Jose will spend much of its space to re-sign players, GM Doug Wilson acknowledged there will still be room to make a deal.
By July 1? Wilson smirked and said: ”The fifth is my birthday. Ask me then.”
Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk, Vegas’ James Neal and David Perron, Boston’s Rick Nash, Columbus’ Thomas Vanek and New Jersey’s Patrick Maroon are among the wingers who are potentially available. Carlson staying with Washington leaves Detroit’s Mike Green, Dallas’ Dan Hamhuis and Columbus’ Ian Cole at the top of the list of defensemen.
”There are some free agents out there that we like,” said Rangers GM Jeff Gorton Cheap Customized Seattle Seahawks Jerseys , whose team shifted toward a rebuild this past season. ”We’re in a pretty good spot to talk to as many free agents that we can that we like and we’ll go forward that way.”
Unlike New York, which had been in win-now mode for a while, the expansion Golden Knights were supposed to be building slowly toward becoming a perennial playoff contender. After reaching the Cup final in their first season, Vegas GM George McPhee doesn’t want to overpromise and under-deliver.
”You just never know with these things and whether we’ll do anything at all or do something,” McPhee said. ”You’re sort of venturing into an area where there’s all kinds of things going on and you don’t know how it’s going to go. There’s no urgency for us to do anything. We like the team we have, we like the model we have. If we can make it better by doing something that makes sense, then we’ll do it.”
The Capitals did not tender a qualifying offer to playoff star Devante Smith-Pelly, who will now become an attractive option to other teams as an unrestricted free agent. Washington said it’s still negotiating with Smith-Pelly, who scored seven goals in the postseason and would have had arbitration rights.
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Sidney Crosby tormented the Flyers just as he has from the start of his NHL career. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin were clutch when needed in pivotal games. And Matt Murray? Oh, just two shutouts and the type of outings that show more zeros on the board are possible in the second round – and maybe, beyond.
But with the game on the line and facing a Game 7 on home ice where they already lost twice, the Pittsburgh Penguins turned to a blossoming postseason star to lead the way.
Jake Guentzel was just the player to bail out the Pens.
He scored the tying and go-ahead goals in Game 6, then scored two more – all four in succession – to put the game away and lift the Penguins to an 8-5 Game 6 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
The Flyers are headed home, as usual http://www.philadelphiaeaglesteamonlines.com/josh-sweat-jersey , with a Stanley Cup drought that dates to 1975.
The Penguins are nestled in a familiar spot, in the second round for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
But a bigger prize looms for the Penguins – a third straight Stanley Cup. The Penguins have won nine straight playoff series, which ties a franchise record and are the most in the NHL since the Detroit Red Wings also won nine from 1997 to 1999.
The New York Islanders are the last team to win 10 straight, in fact, they won 19 consecutive postseason series (1980 to 1984) that included four Stanley Cup championships.
Now comes the hard part.
Pittsburgh has reached the same round as the last three teams going for a threepeat (1989 Oilers, 1993 Penguins, 1999 Red Wings) – and all three lost in the second round.
The Penguins say, bring it on.
”Things are never going to always go your way, especially in the playoffs,” Murray said. ”We got the job done. This time of year, it doesn’t matter how, it just matters that you get the win.”
Crosby had a hat trick in Game 1 and matched a postseason-high with four points in a Game 3 win in the Philadelphia arena where fans stuck his photo on the inside of urinals.
He shook it off – as if he was ever bothered by the activity – and scored six goals and had 13 points in the series.
”Sid loves to compete. When he goes to hostile environments, he’s at his best,” coach Mike Sullivan said. ”He’s a high-stakes player. He has `it’. `It’ is what helps you perform in those big moments. It’s hard to explain `it’. You know `it’ when you see it. Sid is one of those guys.”
Crosby has been the dominant and reliable Penguin over the course of a career that includes three Stanley Cups. But this season brought new challenges to the franchise.
The Penguins have crafted a new identity after the departures of Chris Kunitz Raiders Arden Key Jersey , Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley and Matt Cullen, all vital pieces of Pittsburgh’s 2016 and 2017 titles.
”I think we have a bunch of capable guys that can play for us here. It’s kind of the next man up and the guys did a great job,” Guentzel said.
Sure, four goals is a bit ridiculous, but Guentzel will need to be a key contributor again especially if Malkin isn’t ready to go.
Malkin, who scored three goals in five games, sat out Game 6 with a leg injury. He missed the final four minutes of the first period in Game 5 after Philadelphia’s Jori Lehtera fell on it when the two got tangled in the corner. Malkin returned to start the second period. But he was hurt to the point where he sat out Game 6, and all it takes is one nagging injury to slow down the road toward completing the Stanley Cup trilogy.
If he plays or not, there are still enough playoff-tested Penguins to keep them rolling.
”We’ve been through a number of these elimination games over the last couple of years so it’s not a surprise to any of us,” Sullivan said. ”My hope moving forward is we can learn from those experiences and hopefully we have better success.”
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