Puck drop on the 2015-16 NHL season is inching ever so close. Roster are shrinking, veterans are earning their place while others are sent packing, and Brent Seabrook is nearly $55 million richer.
Here is your roundup of NHL training camp and pre-season news from the past weekend.
Blackhawks commit to Seabrook with 8-year extension
In an off-season where the Chicago Blackhawks said goodbye to the likes of Brandon Saad, Johnny Oduya, and Patrick Sharp due to limited salary cap space, the club was not about to let Brent Seabrook leave town.
Seabrook inked an eight-year, $54.8 million contract over the weekend. The deal carries an average annual value of $6.85 million and includes a no-movement clause over the first six years and a limited no-trade clause over the final two seasons.
In other news, the Blackhawks released veterans Tomas Kopecky and Lubomir Visnovsky from their PTOs.
Maple Leafs make call on several veterans
Veteran winger Brad Boyes has landed a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Boyes signed a one-year deal worth $700,000 over the weekend after impressing on a professional try-out at training camp. The Leafs released Curtis Glencross and Devin Setoguchi from their PTOs.
Marner reassigned to OHL’s London Knights
The Maple Leafs sent 2015 first-round pick Mitch Marner back to the Ontario Hockey League on Sunday. The 18-year-old will suit up for the London Knights to begin the 2015-16 season. He totalled 44 goals and 126 points in 63 games with the Knights last season.
Lightning release Emery from PTO
The Tampa Bay Lightning may have found their goaltender who will help with the loss of Andrei Vasilevskiy to injury, but it’s not Ray Emery.
The Lightning invited Emery to camp on PTO, but released the 33-year-old on the weekend after they claimed Kevin Poulin off waivers from the New York Islanders on Sunday.
Lucic happy amid uncertain future in Los Angeles
Milan Lucic is set to begin his first season sans the black and yellow of the Boston Bruins. After being acquired in a trade ahead of the NHL Draft in June, Lucic is happy to join the Los Angeles Kings.
The 27-year-old has plenty to play for in 2015-16, as he is entering the final season of a three-year, $18-million deal.
“Another thing that I have to learn how to deal with, too, is that little bit of uncertainty,” Lucic said, via The Boston Globe. “I’ve always known that, ‘Hey, OK, I’m going to be here [in Boston] and the contract is there,’ so none of that was ever in the back of your mind, right? So I guess there is a little bit of uncertainty there, as well.
“Usually when the team has success, individuals have success, so I’m just trying to come here and help the team win hockey games, and usually when you do that everything else takes care of itself.”
Lucic is eyeing his February 9 return to Boston to face the Bruins and his former club’s visit to Los Angeles.
“Those were the ones [games] that I looked at right away, to be honest, when they came out,” said Lucic.
Wild’s Dumba burns Jets in pre-season action
Minnesota Wild defenceman Matthew Dumba is a candidate for a breakout campaign heading into the 2015-16 season. The 21-year-old lit up the Winnipeg Jets with two goals and two assists in an 8-1 Wild win Sunday.
A burgeoning goaltending controversy in Carolina?
Eddie Lack was perfect in his pre-season debut with the Carolina Hurricanes while incumbent No. 1 Cam Ward struggled behind a shaky team in his first go of the fall.
Head coach Bill Peters is nowhere close to naming his No. 1 guy just yet.
“We’ll leave that until closer to the end,” Peters told the The News & Observer. “Too many Grade A chances in both games and a lot of breakdowns we’re not typically going to make. I thought Eddie was good in Washington, very athletic on the penalty kill. Wardo we just left hung out to dry, unfortunately.”
It’s a good bet this battle wages well into the regular season.
