You know, it’s pretty much September.
In just five days, we’ll officially turn the page on the month of August. A long off-season is finally drawing to a close and the prospect of a new season is finally within reach. Sure it’s preseason but later this month, we’ll be watching the Ottawa Senators play a hockey game.
It’s been an eternity.
So with that in mind, it’s time to start ramping things up a little. Monday News and Notes is back and more mediocre than ever. What is a “note” anyway? Here we go.
-In a summer full of strange story lines, the Craig Anderson trade request was right up there. Not only because it didn’t make a ton of sense on the surface but also because it just seemed to get lost in the shuffle over the last couple months. Yesterday, we heard from Anderson for the first time since the news broke and he added some additional context to what was behind his request. You can see the video here but essentially the off-ice drama that has a followed this team is a big part of it. One thing that was interesting about Anderson’s comments is that he sort of made it sound like some of the drama still needs to be addressed. So obviously it’s about more than just trading Mike Hoffman.
-With all the attention that has been given to Karlsson, Duchene and Stone, it’s pretty easy to forget that Ryan Dzingel is also entering the final year of his current contract. Dzingel will earn just $2.1 million this season and he’ll be looking to cash in next summer as an unrestricted free agent. Dzingel had a career-high 23 goals and 41 points last season, solidifying his spot as a regular in the team’s top six. He should be a lock for a spot on one of the top two lines next year too. To this point, there have been no significant talks with Dzingel’s camp but you have to think this is at least on Pierre Dorion’s radar.
-Surely it was just a coincidence that as NHL insiders returned from their summer vacation, suddenly the Erik Karlsson rumour mill started to kick into high gear again. Last week was another strange turn in the ongoing drama surrounding Captain Karlsson. Elliotte Friedman said that talk had picked up in the last few days and that the Vancouver Canucks might be involved. But then we heard that Karlsson wouldn’t sign with a Canadian team. But then, Karlsson corrected that, reaching out to Friedman to say that he would sign with a Canadian team. Got all that? So basically nothing happened. I’m not suggesting for a second that Friedman is pulling this stuff out of thin air because obviously he isn’t. But it does seem like someone is maybe using Friedman to create a sense of urgency where there isn’t one.
-In the next couple weeks, we’ll start to hear players talk about coming into Camp in the best shape of their lives. It doesn’t sound like that will be the case for 36 year old Marian Gaborik. Buried within a recent article on The Athletic was a note about Gaborik’s health and it doesn’t sound promising. Word is he wasn’t healthy enough for a buyout back in June which seems to cast doubt on his status for next season. Starting the season on long-term injured reserve sounds like a possibility but we should have a better idea exactly where he’s at in the next couple weeks.
