In today’s edition of Stat Hockey’s NHL News & Rumours we start with an update on a possible contract extension between the Vancouver Canucks and captain Bo Horvat. Then we jump over to some horrible news for the Philadelphia Flyers before their season has even begun and a massive contract signed in Colorado. Today’s NHL News & Rumours is wrapped up by looking at the trade executed by the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars before discussing the retirements of three veteran defencemen.
Canucks Nowhere Close to Contract Extension With Horvat
Bo Horvat is the only significant free agent for the Canucks next offseason. He currently has a cap hit of $5.5 million and ranks him sixth on the team in 2022-23. When J.T. Miller’s new contract kicks in, it would bump Horvat down the list even further. Elliotte Friedman believes that Horvat will not only get a raise, but it may be significant.
As we inch closer to the start of training camp @FriedgeHNIC stopped by and shared the latest around Bo Horvat and a possible contract extension.
Full interview.. https://t.co/RlmbGlvqvk pic.twitter.com/l5m00L9Ho7
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) September 19, 2022
The Canucks don’t have the cap space to afford any sort of increase in cap hit from their captain and are sticking to their plan. Friedman says the two parties are not close and not progressing in the contract negotiations. Horvat ranked third on the team in goals (31) and tied for fourth in points (52) last season. He is their second line centre but Elias Pettersson is a natural centre and can play there if Horvat moves on.
Couturier Likely Out for 2022-23 Season for Flyers
The Flyers just can’t catch a break as news has broke by Anthony SanFilippo that Sean Couturier will once again miss significant time. He has a herniated disk in his back that will cause him to miss months or the entire 2022-23 season. The Flyers dealt with too many injuries to handle last season including one that caused Couturier to miss the last 53 games of the season.
I've been told that @NHLFlyers center Sean Couturier has a herniated disc in his back that could cost him several months, if not the whole season. I have a story coming very shortly. @NHL.
— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) September 19, 2022
Philadelphia was hoping for a better season after bringing on John Tortorella and hoping to have the group healthy for the season. Now Couturier, Joel Farabee, and likely Ryan Ellis will miss time to start the season. Couturier will once again be sorely missed as a former Selke Trophy winner, skilled offensive contributor, and top line centre.
Avalanche Lock Up MacKinnon Long-Term
Nathan MacKinnon would have become an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Avalanche have locked him up for eight more years. He is coming off of a stellar season and playoff run to help the team win the Stanley Cup. The Avalanche star will be the highest paid player in the league next season at $12.6 million AAV.
Nathan MacKinnon becomes the highest paid player in @NHL history after signing an 8-year extension with the @Avalanche. 💰
Thoughts on the deal? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8c63sa1aFh
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 20, 2022
With this signing, the Avalanche have locked up their core for a number of years. One of the best players in the NHL gets a much-deserved pay raise after being underpaid for a number of seasons now. He has been a Hart Trophy finalist in three of the past five seasons and has scored 167 goals and 442 goals in just 338 games.
Nils Lundkvist Traded by Rangers to Stars
Nils Lundkvist’s trade request was executed as the Rangers traded him to the Stars. The trade request was warranted considering Lundkvist is a right defenceman and the Rangers had Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, and Braden Schneider ahead of him on the depth chart. Dallas on the other hand has lots of opportunity and room to grow.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1572020484031803392
Lundkvist is a former first round pick (28th in 2018) and the Rangers got more than what could have been expected in a return for the young defender. The Rangers received a top-10 protected first round pick in 2023 that turns into an unprotected first rounder in 2024 if the Stars somehow finish poorly enough to get that pick after this season. They also received a fourth round pick in 2024 that turned into a third round pick if Lundkvist scores 55 points in the next two seasons combined. The Stars get a great young defenceman with promise while the Rangers get assets they can use.
3 Veteran Defencemen Retired from NHL
It was a shocking morning as three veteran defenceman in the NHL retired. Zdeno Chara, Keith Yandle, and P.K. Subban all retired after great careers.
Chara calls it a career after playing his last season with the New York Islanders and the most games all-time by a defenceman. Chara’s number 33 will be raised to the rafters by the Bruins, Ty Anderson reported. No date has been set for when it will happen, but sometime this season seems like a certainty. He ended his career as a Norris Trophy winner and a Stanley Cup champion with the Bruins.
#NHL Defencemen Retiring:
Zdeno Chara
Most games played by defenceman all-time (1,680)Keith Yandle
Most consecutive games played all-time (989)P.K. Subban
2012-13 Norris Trophy winner— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) September 20, 2022
Yandle holds the all-time Iron Man streak in the NHL with 989 consecutive games played. He surpassed that mark last season before the Flyers scratched him for a number of games to end the season. He was an amazing offensive defenceman in his day and was consistently one of the best power-play specialists in the league among defencemen.
Subban was very good in his younger days when he broke into the NHL as a 21-year-old defenceman. He won a Norris Trophy in just his third season and was a finalist two other times. 33-year-old Subban had his sights set on a reunion with the Montreal Canadiens or an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Patrick Lortie reported that once both of those options were off the table, he decided to retire.
This has been another Stat Hockey’s NHL News & Rumours.
Related: Stat Hockey’s Chicago Blackhawks 2022-23 Line Projections
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