The school backpacks are coming out of the closet, kids are trying on last year’s skates to see if they still fit and in roughly one month’s time, NHL training camps will be in full swing.
Sorry friends; summer is wrapping up.
Of course, the upside of transitioning to fall is the aforementioned return of NHL hockey. And while we’re really not that far off from filling up the water bottles, most teams still have an issue — big or small — lingering around the building.
With that in mind, we’re raising one item for every team that figures to be a talking point between now and the start of camps. To streamline things a little bit, we’ll tackle this issue one division at a time. After exploring the Metro, Atlantic, and Pacific, it’s finally time to dive into the Central Division. Could a Canadian club still unload some high-end, pending-UFA talent? And whose house is about to be inhabited by the best teenage hockey player on the planet?
Who is Connor Bedard going to move in with? It’s pretty common for young guys to live with a vet for their first year or two in the league when they’re still a teenager, so we’re about to find out whose basement is the best fit for Bedard. Hey, the Hawks do have not one, but two former MVPs in their midst with Taylor Hall and Corey Perry, so maybe Bedard goes with a live-in sounding board?
Can they figure out a Devon Toews extension before the puck drops?
Colorado got Toews when the Islanders were squeezed under the cap and, boy, what a pick up he’s been. Now the 29-year-old is entering the final year of his deal and, as tends to be the case when you’ve recently hung a banner, the Avs are up against it cap-wise. Colorado has some cushion for now thanks to the fact Gabriel Landeskog will be on long-term injured reserve for the duration of the season, but it will be interesting to see if both Toews and fellow defenceman Samuel Girard are on the squad 12 months from now.
Is there any blue line help coming? Miro Heiskanen — who had 48 points in his final 47 games this past season — is now a fully-formed stud, but the 24-year-old Finn could use some help on the Dallas ‘D’ corps.
Youngster Thomas Harley can be counted on for growth, but it’s probably asking a lot to hope he fills a top-4 role. If the Stars wanted to go hard after somebody like Noah Hanifin of the Calgary Flames, they’ve got a couple forward prospects that could help get a deal like that done.
Calen Addison had an up-and-down rookie season, but he did average .47 points-per-game, a mark that topped all rookie blue-liners who appeared in at least 45 games.
Addison is an RFA and it will be interesting to see what his next contract looks like.
How many bonding BBQs will it take for the new guys to get comfortable and a fresh vibe take hold?
As much as any team in the league, you associate the Preds with stability. But OG GM David Poile has been replaced by Barry Trotz (even when things change in Nashville, they don’t change that much) and Trotz clearly wanted a culture change in his room. Why else would he eat half of Ryan Johansen’s salary in a trade with Colorado and buyout Matt Duchene when the latter was one year removed from a 43-43-86 season?
Andrew Brunette represents a new voice behind the bench and his up-tempo game plan will now run through a top line anchored by new No. 1 centre Ryan O’Reilly. Hopefully, everyone is laying the groundwork for a new season over a couple of summertime adult beverages on Broadway.
Could owner Alex Meruelo sniff any more spots as a potential new, permanent home for the Coyotes? Earlier this month, he executed a letter of intent to buy a parcel of land in Northwest Mesa, presumably with an eye to building a new arena and all the entertainment accoutrement that could go with it. Speculation is it might not be the last time he does that.
Not to wiggle out of this, but for a team coming off such a disappointing year, St. Louis is a shockingly settled team.
Nobody of huge significance is in need of a new deal or an extension. In fact, the top two highest-paid forwards — Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas — are just coming on to identical eight-year, $65-million deals. On the back end, the top three D-men — Justin Falk, Torey Krug and Colton Parayko — all represent a $6.5-million cap hit for at least the next four seasons.
GM Doug Armstrong and coach Craig Berube are also both under contract beyond this season, so if there are any situations brewing in Missouri, they’re doing so well under the surface.
Will Mark Scheifele or Connor Hellebucyk still be Jets in a month’s time?
We knew entering the off-season that of the players who were eligible to become UFAs in 2024, Pierre-Luc Dubois was the most likely candidate to be dealt swiftly. The smoke around Dubois felt like it had been there almost from the moment he arrived in Winnipeg and the saga finally came to a close when he was shipped to L.A. — for a nice return, we should add — just before the draft.
With Blake Wheeler also having been bought out, that leaves Scheifele and Hellebuyck — both less than 12 months away from being able to hit the open market — as the big, throbbing question marks.
Here’s what we know; Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff won’t rush into anything. He held firm on his goals for the Dubois trade and, in the end, more or less got what he wanted for the player. There’s a zero percentage chance he moves a No. 1 C or No. 1 goalie before camp just for the sake of closure.
But if teams come calling and make an honest pitch, there’s still a chance Manitoba could see a monster transaction or two in the coming weeks.