Spencer Carbery, the Hershey Bears’ head coach who was named the AHL’s best bench boss in 2021, is leaving town.
The 39-year-old coach has been hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to be an assistant coach next season.
Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had his worst statistical season as a pro with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2020-21 season. Serving as Thatcher Demko’s backup, Holtby posted a 7-11-3 record with a 3.67 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.
But hours before NHL teams must submit their protection lists for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft (5 PM), the Holtbeast is reportedly a coveted player as some league GMs see value in the 2018 Stanley Cup champion as both a player and a leader in the locker room. Holtby’s season stats also seem skewed when considering how dysfunctional and bad defensively Vancouver was.
The expansion draft protected lists are due at 5 PM today, and it’s going to be a big deal across the NHL. Last time this happened the Caps lost Nate Schmidt and completely fell to pieces.
But that’s later. For now, and in the wake of Space Jam 2: Dark World, which I have not seen and I will not see, I have discovered a new hill upon which to die: Looney Tunes is better than Disney cartoons.
By Peter Hassett 1 week ago
Former Capital Richard Panik is on the move again.
In a transaction that appears inspired by the upcoming Expansion Draft, the New York Islanders jettisoned defenseman Nick Leddy ($5.5 million AAV) to the Red Wings for Panik and a 2021 second-round pick.
Saturday, protection lists must be submitted by every NHL team except for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Islanders’ calculation was that they were likely going to protect Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield on their backend. Instead of losing Leddy for nothing to the Seattle Kraken, they dealt him for a future asset and Panik, who would they be okay with exposing.
By Ian Oland 1 week ago
Hockey Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup champion, and doctor?
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is one step away from earning a new, fancy title. Friday, the Federal Science Center of Sports and Culture at the Sports Ministry of the Russian Federation had a preliminary hearing and approved Ovechkin for the discussion and defense of his PhD dissertation. The topic of Ovechkin’s dissertation was “Comparative Analysis of Professional Hockey Training Methods in North America and Russia.” He presented his findings after studying the training methods of three Russian and North American schools.
According to Match TV, once Ovechkin’s dissertation is approved by the Science Council, he will become a PhD of Pedagogical Sciences (research-based education strategies to help young people learn).
By Ian Oland 1 week ago
One of the last remaining goals in Alex Ovechkin’s career is to win a gold medal in the Olympics just like his mother, Tatyana, did with the USSR’s basketball team in 1976 and 1980. Ovechkin wears the number eight in the NHL in Tatyana’s honor.
But NHL participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics is not a done deal yet, causing NHL commissioner Gary Bettman a lot of “consternation.” During the NHL’s and NHLPA’s CBA negotiations last year, the two sides agreed that players would participate in the next two Olympic games. But issues caused by the pandemic, such as COVID-related insurance, have caused negotiations to spill well into the summer. The NHL, which will have to bake in a three-week pause in the 2021-22 season to accomodate participation, wants to release next season’s schedule before the start of the NHL Draft on July 23.
Ovechkin, who has long been a vocal NHLPA leader for Olympic participation, is not sweating the negotiations or what may or may not happen despite how badly he wants to win gold.
Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124 million contract officially ends on July 28, the first day of free agency. Meanwhile, the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft will be held on Wednesday, July 21. NHL teams’ protection lists are due on Saturday.
With 12 days to go until possibly hitting the open market for the first time in his career, Ovechkin says he is still negotiating with the Capitals.
Ovechkin made the comments in a Russian language interview with Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov. It’s the first time Ovechkin has spoken to the media since Elliotte Friedman reported that his NHL sources believe Ovi and the Capitals are waiting to announce his new deal until after the Expansion Draft.
By Ian Oland 1 week ago
The Washington Capitals announced their 2021-22 preseason schedule on Thursday and there’s one notable change from year’s past.
The slate of preseason games will be starting a few weeks later than usual, which will push the start of the NHL regular season into mid-October.
For the last year, TJ Oshie’s name has been bandied about as a possible selection for the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft. But as time has passed, a possible split between Oshie and the Capitals seems less and less likely as it appears GM Brian MacLellan plans to protect the fan-favorite forward in the draft.
“We’re gonna try and resist exposing Osh,” MacLellan said in late May. “I think he’s a big part of what we’ve done and he’s had a good year here. He’s a big part of our locker room. He’s a big part of our on-ice team. He brings energy every day. He brings a compete level. He makes everybody better that’s around him.
During the American Century Championship earlier this week, Oshie was asked if the Capitals had spoken to him about the draft.
Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov has a new job. Four years after his tenure as general manager ended, Fedorov was named the head coach of CSKA Moscow – the same team where he started his playing career as a teeanger.
Igor Nikitin, who had signed a three-year contract in June 2020, was relieved by CSKA of his duties. The reason for his departure was not provided.
