Welcome back hockey fans! Welcome to Week 6 of our news from around the world of hockey and around the league. We have lots to get to, so let’s jump right in.
- The Ottawa Senators have signed goaltender Linus Ullmark to a 4-year, $33 million dollar extension (with an AAV of $8.25 million – similar to his previous teammate Jeremy Swayman. Ullmark, 31, who came over last season in a trade from Boston, played 40 games and had a .915SV% and a 2.55 GAA. He is looking at becoming a starter as Ottawa competes for a playoff position this season.
- Boston Bruins star goalie Jeremy Swayman (and Ullmarks hugging partner) also inked a big-time deal with his respective club for an 8-year, after landing his eight-year, $66 million dollar contract (with an AAV of $8.25 million) for the sensational goaltender who will take over the net (along with his new partner Korpisalo). Swayman, 25, played 44 games and .916SV% and a 2.53 GAA last season plus a great playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He now looks to have a big workload this season and help Boston compete hard.
- Seattle has had a big week when they announced Jordan Eberle as their new (and second captain after Mark Giordano) in their franchise history for the upcoming season. Eberle, 34, had 17 goals and 27 assists in 78 games last season and is a leader on and off the ice. They also made history when they took to the ice for their first game of the season against the St. Louis Blues and assistant coach Jessica Campbell became the first woman to ever coach an NHL game. We wish her all the best.
- On top of the big news in Seattle, it was also announced that the Kraken resigned Joey Daccord to a 5-year, $25 million dollar contract (with an AAV of $5 million) locking up their 1B to help Philip Grubauer. Daccord, 28, played 50 games last season and had 19 with a .916 SV% and a 2.46 GAA. This is another goalie off the market as the team tries to get back into the playoff hunt this season.
- The Panthers, who are coming off a big game 1 win against the Boston Bruins and raising their Stanley Cup banner, have signed forward Carter Verhaeghe to an 8-year, $56 million extension (with an AAV of $7 million). Verhaeghe, 29, put up 34 goals and 38 assists in 76 regular-season games last year and was very effective during their deep cup run. This is another good piece that Bill Zito secured to hopefully have the team go on another deep run and repeat.
- Dylan Guenther has made history by scoring the first goal in the Utah HC history versus the Chicago Blackhawks and the team wins their first game at their new arena (the Delta Centre). The place was packed and roaring and it showed how excited Utah is for hockey. We look forward to seeing them be competitive this season. It was also announced that Clayton Keller was named the first captain of the franchise who has been a superstar in his own right. We wish him all the best in the upcoming season.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 6 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk. We dive into some great topics and much more.
Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Then remember to tune in each week to get all the latest news in the world of hockey. For more hockey news, different takes or if you want to chat about anything hockey give me a follow @hockey_two on TWITTER and give us a follow on YouTube, or at https://twoguysandhockeytalk.com/.
- Pawel ‘The Cat’
