THE CAT’S Weekly Update – July 13, 2023
Hello everyone,
Good morning Hockey fans,
Hope you are all enjoying things this summer. There is some more news in the hockey world that we want to share with you
- The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed their captain Anze Kopitar to a 2 year, $14 million (with an AAV of $7 million) extension. Kopitar, 36, who has been the Kings’ captain since 2016, played a key role in the team’s first two Stanley Cup runs in 2012 and 2014 and had 28 goals and 46 assists last season, and finished 5th in Selke voting. Looks like LA will have Kopitar as their 2C while Pierre Luc-Dubois will be their 1C. It seems like LA will try to be competing for the top of the Pacific division and compete for the playoffs again.
- The Vegas Golden Knights, who are currently celebrating their cup victory, also took care of some business by hiring former Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme and Joel Ward, who spent last season with AHL Henderson, on as assistant head coaches. In 2013, Ducharme won the President’s Cup and the Memorial Cup with the Mooseheads. He also won a silver medal in 2017 as head coach of Canada’s world junior team. We wish them all the best. In relation to the Stanley Cup, they are also the first team who have engraved for the first time in history four goalies onto the cup: Jonathan Quick (now signed with NYR), Laurent Brossoit (signed with the Jets), Adin Hill (resigned with Vegas), and Logan Thompson, the most by one team. The other question that Vegas has moving into the new season is Robin Lehner and what will happen, as he didn’t play all season and may be still out for next season. Will Vegas be able to repeat, like Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay?
- Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs also have a lot going on after being busy in the off-season rebuilding their team. Although they still have to re-sign Ilya Samsonov who is going to arbitration, there are also a lot of discussions with their two big RFA’s Auston Matthews & William Nylander. Will they be able to resign both of them or will there be a trade involved. How will Toronto do this season after adding Ryan Reaves, Tyler Bertuzzi & Max Domi (who’s dad played with the team back in the day). It looks like Brad wants a heavier, tough team that won’t be pushed around and it should be fun to see how they do this season.
- The St. Louis Blues have signed Oscar Sundqvist to a one-year contract for $775,000, (which for new fans of the game is the new NHL league minimum beginning in 2023-24). Sundqvist, 29, was a Pittsburgh Penguins 3rd round pick in 2012 and had 3 goals and 4 assists in 15 games last season for the Minnesota Wild.
- The Edmonton Oilers still have some work to do as two of their key players (Evan Bouchard & Ryan McLeod) will be heading to Arbitration. There are a few others for other teams but most will be signed before they go in front of an arbitrator.
- Finally, Hockey Canada has announced the roster For 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Some of the names that were announced were: Maxim Masse (Chicoutimi, QMJHL), Malcolm Spence (Erie, OHL), Justin Poirier (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL) D Sam Dickinson (London, OHL), Ben Danford (Oshawa, OHL) and Goalie Ryerson Leenders (from Mississauga, OHL) amongst some other. It should be a fun tournament and it is cool to watch some of these players possibly be drafted in the future (2024). Keep an eye out for them.
Thoughts?
Pawel the ‘Cat’
