dlbalr

Probably not. It sounds like as part of the sale, the current Coyotes owner will retain the exclusive naming/branding rights for Coyotes as well as a multi-year agreement for exclusive ownership of the expansion franchise that is widely expected to be granted to Arizona once the arena situation is sorted out and built. That way, the team moves now but they come back to the market in 2029 or so as an expansion team with a new arena in the TV market they don't want to lose.

And that's okay from a seventh-round pick. If he's a reserve forward who comes in when injuries arise and can kill penalties and play on the fourth line, there's nothing really wrong with that outcome. That said, his price point can't go much higher than it is now if he wants to stick around. Fortunately, management saw this as a possibility and slightly front-loaded his contract so he'll only be owed a $1M qualifying offer next summer.

Yeah, I think it's more this than anything. This is a team that was 'built' to contend for first overall in the lottery standings and even sold at the trade deadline when they were in a playoff spot. A letdown was bound to happen.

The top line looks sharp once again, lots of offensive zone time when they're on the ice.

Good to see he'll get a few games in to make sure he is indeed fully recovered and can have a normal summer of workouts. Also doesn't hurt from a trade perspective to show 'hey, he's actually healthy'.

Two-way bottom-six type of player, looked decent offensively at the Spengler when I saw him a couple of times. He isn't too far away from being NHL-ready.

Guhle was boarded by Kucherov early in the TB game and didn't return. Xhekaj, I have no idea.

They wouldn't need to burn a year on Xhekaj by signing him for this season. They'd just sign him to a future contract that begins in 24-25, then give him an ATO for Laval for the stretch run. I see no reason why he wouldn't be in Laval over the next few days unless he's been playing through an injury that needs to be addressed.

For a Hab game? Pretty good chance. We've had lower for Laval GDT's which is why we didn't bother with those this season. Primeau played quite well despite allowing four goals. Good to see him bounce back with two good outings (the other being the second half of the Toronto game) after the rough one against Tampa Bay.

Not a bad third period but they weren't able to generate a whole lot offensively. For the second straight game, a bad 10-minute stretch in the second really did them in. Wonder why it's always that period that seems to be their problem spot.

I'm not sure what Pezzetta was thinking there. Or if he was thinking. He is a willing fighter but isn't very good at it. Reaves is a very good fighter. If you want to try to pick a fight to spark momentum, why go after the guy who you know is going to win handily, handing that potential momentum to the Leafs?

He didn't look right, especially when he had to play the puck right after. I'm surprised he wasn't pulled by the spotter.

It's worth noting that two of the lefties came out of college so they were a bit more polished and mature than players coming out of major junior. I think that's a notable factor. Mailloux is more than NHL-ready offensively but defensively, he still needs some work. That's not a typical profile so yeah, it's understandable that he needs more time. Barron is an interesting one though. I think they could have easily kept him up over Struble but are prioritizing him getting bigger minutes in a more prominent role. So is it that he had to spend more time in the minors for development or is it that the Habs chose the more gradual path? Barron is waiver-eligible next year so it's fair to say he'll be up full-time.

Stephens had himself a game, 3 goals and 2 assists as Laval wins 7-4. https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1026230

Today's lines (no Gignac who's DTD with a lower-body injury): 2-1 Laval after 1. Stephens and Reinbacher with the goals.

Trust me, the hype is still there. There's plenty of talk about how he is playing his best hockey in a long time (he had one whole point last month) and how he's a must-play player to start the playoffs.

1-1 in the 3rd period against Syracuse. Laval is getting outplayed a bit but Dobes has been sharp so far. Belleville is up 3-0 tonight so getting two points here gets a little more important.

Or start the season a week earlier and have this past weekend be the actual Frozen Four. That makes plenty of sense to me as well.

College free agency has started up. I've done a series of pieces for PHR with an overview of some of the better options by position. Some goalies/defence have signed since posting while the forwards were just posted this weekend so they're all still available for now. Gorton mentioned recently that they were doing some planning for college free agency so it appears they'll be trying to sign some players, likely some of the ones in these columns. Goalies: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-goaltenders.html Defence: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-defensemen.html Centres: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-centers.html Wingers: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-wingers.html

A bit of a quieter third period from the Habs but this is one of those 'competitive losses' that most I suspect will be okay with. (Although a goal from the Habs would have been nice.) I thought Kovacevic had a decent game for someone who hasn't been in much lately.

Agreed, this is one of their better all-around games. They're playing Carolina pretty tough so far and have had some good chances offensively. Good to see.

Hutson gets the winner as Boston University moves to the Frozen Four. That means the earliest they'll be eliminated is now April 11th since they don't want to go up against the NCAA Final Four.

Laval waited until the second half of the game when they were down 4-1 to show up; their offence was non-existent once again before that point. Not a viable strategy for success and they fell 5-2. https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1026192

It was only a few months ago that Laval was playing a lot of high-scoring games. We know Dobes has turned it around but where did the offence go? All of a sudden, it's a minor miracle if they get 25 shots on net and lately, they are routinely getting outplayed and outchanced. I'm happy that Dobes is stealing some wins but they need to figure out how to start putting up some goals and scoring chances again.

That's a lot of real money to give up to buy a single late first-round pick (it's not just the cap charge but actual dollars). I think Carolina waits it out one more year, there's not much risk for them doing so.