Around the League Report

Senators makin’ waves

Today marks the last day of the preseason for hockey, with just one game being played at 3pm between Carolina and Washington. The season is three short days away. The endless summer is over. Is this music to your ears yet?

It certainly has been around the league, where several teams have been forced to make moves based on what they’ve seen over the past couple of weeks. Injuries have struck, tryouts have gone decidedly well or poorly, extensions have been signed (and some haven’t been considered), and leadership moves have been made.

Let’s take a look at what you need to know before the season starts on Wednesday.

• The Ottawa Senators made some waves last Friday when they signed Bobby Ryan to a lengthy 7 year/$50.75M contract extension. Though there has been some outcry over the amount that he’s making per year ($7.25M AAV), it was a move that the Senators can rest easy after making. His production during the preseason has been promising.
• Ottawa also named Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson as the team’s captain, succeeding Jason Spezza who was traded to Dallas during the offseason. I sure hope he keeps it up with his weird drunk tweets despite this new role.
• Moving down to the States, there was a frenzy of injuries, most notably Carolina’s Jordan Staal breaking his leg in a game against the Sabres , and consequently expected to miss 3-4 months. This puts Derek Stepan’s leg fracture into perspective, as he’s only expected to miss 2 months max.
• Other injuries: Pavel Datsyuk with a separated shoulder, Nathan Horton with a degenerative back injury, David Clarkson with a broken orbital bone, Jonathan Drouin with a fractured thumb, and Sergei Gonchar with an ankle injury.
• Boston finally signed Torey Krug, St. Louis finally signed Jaden Schwartz.
• Defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy were traded from Chicago to the Islanders yesterday for draft picks, probably in an attempt to free up cap space that the Blackhawks had to shed, and so that we could all think Garth Snow is a competent GM for a few months.
• Speaking of the Blackhawks, they signed Daniel Carcillo to a one-year contract yesterday. This was obviously directly related to his fight with Tanner Glass on Friday night.
• If the Islanders are good this year, a big part of it will be due to netminder Jaroslav Halak. Halak was signed to a 4 year/$18M contract and, I think as the undisputed number one goalie on a squad, he could really shine.
• The Sharks are still insane; former captain Joe Thornton tinkered around on the 4^th line, and the hockey world collectively tilted their head in confusion. I can’t promise this won’t all wind up being some kind of Punk’d: NHL Preseason special on the NHL Network.
• Paul Bissonnette got cut from his tryout with the Blues. Million dollar idea: host the Punk’d
• The Avalanche only had 11 goals and a 1-5-1 record in the preseason – and one of those goals was a shootout win which barely counts. Though the preseason means very little other than finding chemistry, solidifying your roster, and injuring some big names, this is not a very good record coming from a team that was hot last year. I’ve predicted a sophomore slump for Patrick Roy and his squad.
• There are still four teams missing captains (Buffalo, Columbus, Florida, and the Rangers) and several cuts to be made, so keep your ears open as the week begins.