from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,
- Top speed tracked in an NHL game this season, according to the league: Carolina’s Martin Necas, who hit 24.9 miles per hour. Next on the list: Alex Formenton (24.7), Connor McDavid (24.6), Nathan MacKinnon (24.5), Ryan Merkley, Nikolaj Ehlers and Lawson Crouse (24.4), Bowen Byram (24.3), Christian Jaros and Alex Tuch (24.2). Only two of those guys can stickhandle through defenders at those speeds, and you know who they are.
- There have been two offer sheets tendered in the last three summers, both of them involving Carolina players (the Hurricanes signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi away from Montreal; they also matched the Canadiens’ lowball offer to Sebastian Aho). If anyone’s going to get one this summer, Necas looks like a candidate. The 23-year-old put up a somewhat disappointing 14-26—40 season, and didn’t maximize his time in the top six. The Canes have some $19 million to spend and 10 free agents, including Necas, Max Domi, Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck, Tony DeAngelo, and Ethan Bear. If a team — hey, why not Montreal? — offers Necas more than $4.21 million, which is likely, the Canes would recoup a first- and a third-round pick if they didn’t match.
more including...
We’re about to get wild. The draft begins Thursday in Montreal, and free agency opens July 13. Here are eight predictions for the NHL’s silly season:
- Johnny Gaudreau will sign with New Jersey
Speculating here, but it just makes sense....
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.