Elliotte Friedman

Elliotte Friedman says he can’t find anyone in the NHL who thinks Alex Ovechkin’s extension isn’t already ‘in the drawer’

Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124 million contract officially ends on July 28. The Capitals and its superstar captain met on a contract extension multiple times during the season — Ovechkin is representing himself in the negotiations — but beyond some optimistic quotes, not much is known where things actually stand.

“I want to finish my career here,” Ovechkin said at the end of the season. “I’m pretty sure we will do something soon.”

“I think both sides are interested,” MacLellan added. “We want Ovi. The ownership wants Ovi to finish his career here. Everyone wants him to finish his career (here). He’s saying the same thing. I think we’ll get it worked out in the end.”

“Alex knows that if he plays five more years, 10 more years, whatever it is, we’ve got his back,” Capitals majority owner, Ted Leonsis, said earlier in May. “Our commitment to him is to continue to have great teams. We’ll spend to the cap, we’ll try to win championships. And that’s what he’s focused on because that will be his legacy.”

On Monday, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported what he knows and it seems to point to what everyone is assuming.

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By Ian Oland 4 weeks ago

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Karl Alzner is ‘open to anything, willing to go anywhere’ to continue his hockey career

Former Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner did not play hockey during the 2020-21 season after being bought out of the final two years of a five-year contract by the Montreal Canadiens in October. After nine years in DC, Alzner left the Caps for the Habs in the summer of 2017 as an unrestricted free agent.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, in his latest 31 Thoughts column, reported that Alzner continues to watch the Habs, who are currently competing in the Stanley Cup semifinal, every night. The two-time Calder Cup and World Junior champion is determined to come back and resume his career next season.

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By Ian Oland 1 month ago

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Capitals re-sign Conor Sheary to two-year, $3 million extension

The Washington Capitals have inked another contract extension with a player not named Alex Ovechkin.

Wednesday, the Capitals re-signed Conor Sheary to a two-year, $3 million deal worth $1.5M per season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal.

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By Ian Oland 3 months ago

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Connor McMichael wants to stay with the Hershey Bears if the OHL season starts: ‘I think it would be best for my development’

Without the pandemic, Connor McMichael would have likely spent the entire 2020-21 season in the OHL with the London Knights. Instead, the OHL season never began and Connor has played games with both the Washington Capitals and the AHL Hershey Bears.

Teenage hockey players that play junior hockey in Canada are subject to the CHL Transfer Agreement with the NHL. Players drafted by an NHL team usually cannot play for an AHL team until their age 20 season. The prospects must either be on an NHL roster or play with their Canadian junior team. That has put Connor in a weird spot.

The OHL is trying to get permission from the Canadian government to play an abbreviated season. If the league starts up again, Connor would be forced to return to the OHL according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

If it were up to Connor though, he would stay in Hershey.

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By Ian Oland 4 months ago

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Elliotte Friedman on insider reaction to Tom Wilson’s hit: If this was a hit by anyone else, it wouldn’t be a penalty or a suspension

Tom Wilson was suspended seven games by the NHL after delivering a hit to Brandon Carlo Friday that sent the Boston Bruins defenseman out of the game and to the hospital. The hit went unpenalized by officials on the ice but DoPS stepped in after the hit was heavily criticized by Bruins media and hockey fans on social media.

Alex Ovechkin said that the suspension was a joke. “On the ice, even the ref said like ‘it’s not two minutes. It’s a [clean] hit.'”

Peter Laviolette said that the decision opened up a Pandora’s Box that any hit that is legal but “forceful and impactful to the player that has the puck” could be suspendible. TSN’s Frank Seravalli noted that the suspension was precedent-shattering and is the first time a player has suspended a player for boarding “on a hit that wasn’t from behind.”

It appears the NHL world largely agrees with the Capitals. Tuesday, while talking about the Wilson hit on the 31 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman shared what he heard on the inside about Wilson’s hit.

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By Ian Oland 5 months ago

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Hockey Twitter has a field day after Elliotte Friedman reports ‘PIT claims Friedman’

New Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke made their first significant roster move on Wednesday. The executive duo claimed right-handed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers.

The pickup was massively talked about on Hockey Twitter, but not for the reason you might think.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (no relation) reported the news on the social media site, but he didn’t include Friedman’s first name in the tweet. So it read like this.

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By Ian Oland 5 months ago

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Report: NHL could begin 2020-21 season in bubble or hubs, not expected to have exhibition games

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston spoke with David Amber to talk about the latest developments between the NHL and the NHLPA on Friday.

While Friedman repeated his earlier report that the players and the league are focusing on a 52-56 game regular season, he did share a a bit of new news. Friedman says the NHL is not expected to have any exhibition games before the start of the new season.

Johnston added that while the players and owners want to play in their home arenas, the league may be forced to begin the season in a bubble or hubs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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By Ian Oland 8 months ago

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Report: NHL/NHLPA having talks about a 52 to 56 game regular season that starts on January 15

The NHL and NHLPA have been cranky with each other over the last week and there have been some concerning headlines such as Gary Bettman says NHL not trying to back out of CBA and NHLPA weighing options if NHL cancels season.

But on Friday, there were finally some “positive developments” — Elliotte Friedman’s words, not mine — on next season. According to Friedman, “it sounds like” the NHL’s Escrow Ask of the players is going away and many the details for next season have been settled.

Friedman made his comments to Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Friday morning.

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By Ian Oland 8 months ago

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Brian MacLellan’s ‘tell’ that Henrik Lundqvist is likely going to sign with the Capitals

According to reports, recently bought-out Henrik Lundqvist is set to sign a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals on Friday, the first day of free agency.

Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was asked about the rumors on Tuesday night after Round One of the NHL Draft concluded.

“We’re looking for a backup veteran goaltender,” MacLellan said on Tuesday. “He’s a really solid candidate for us.”

But it was what MacLellan did after he responded which really communicated everything you needed to know.

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By Ian Oland 10 months ago

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Report: Capitals interested in signing Henrik Lundqvist

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman ended a Hockey Central segment with a bit of a bombshell, at least in these parts, about Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist, 38, was recently bought out of the final year of his contract by the New York Rangers earlier this week. It’s unclear what’s next for the future Hall of Fame goaltender, but if Hank chooses to play another year in the NHL, the Capitals could be his landing spot.

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By Ian Oland 10 months ago

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