Canucks $$
FYI; the Abbotsford Canucks have a special half-season ticket dealie going on and the Vancouver Canucks are pumping season ticket programs for fans interested in taking a look. We’re obviously not affiliated in any way, but don’t mind occasionally tipping off supporters to deals when they pop up.
Let’s Skate!
There would have been a time and place when the Canucks were interested in right-shot defenceman Matt Dumba. Unfortunately, mainly due to salary cup handcuffs, that possibility of kicking the tires on the 29-year-old Regina native never really existed. On Sunday he signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes, the club that represents the centre of ongoing NHL dysfunction in so many ways, worth $3.9-million. The ‘Yotes presently have seven D-men listed under NHL contracts; not one of them past this next season. It’s not exactly murderers row, either.
So if you’d like to do a little shopping in advance, three of those defencemen will be UFA’s next spring, including popular former Canucks blueliner and Richmond native Troy Stetcher. He’s playing next season for $1.1-million.
Phil the Thrill
The next on-ice hit Phil Kessel delivers might be his first one, that’s if he keeps playing. The NHL’s “Iron Man”, a title that represents the irony of hockey ironies, sits as an unrestricted free agent having played 1,064 consecutive games. Part of the reason he became the NHL’s consecutive game streak record holder last October is because of his lack of physical play, as opposed to some magical durability.
That said, and beyond the snark, it is a remarkable number and we’ll give him credit where credit is due.
The recent past does raise questions regarding his streak and his future in general. Kessel was a healthy scratch for all but four of the Golden Knights playoffs games this past spring as he won his third Stanley Cup in eight years. Dude signed a one-year bargain deal in Las Vegas last summer, a perfect fit for a guy who loves to play poker. He played for $1.5-million with a modified no-trade clause.
Will Phil try something like that again, and if so, just how long will the streak remain intact? Reckon it depends on just how not-deep that team might be.
Tantalizing Tidbits
Edmonton Sun: One of the more interesting summertime NHL moves was the Oilers bringing Connor McDavid’s agent Jeff Jackson in as CEO of Hockey Operations and Alternate Governor. How much of that was just a way to keep McDavid in Edmonton when his current contract expires in 2026. Talk about forethought. The skinny from Robert Tychkowski a few days back.
Seattle Hockey Insider: Our Kraken package included a potpourri of international hockey items and news and notes from around the NHL, including some Hockey Canada dominance. Simmer’s Sunday: 9 Tantalizing Tidbits.
Sticking in the Pacific Division, the Erik Karlsson trade from the San Jose Mercury News perspective, with Curtis Pashelka.
Recent:
— Canucks View: Ranking Pacific Division Top-2 Centres
— Canucks Sunday: Euro Players Start Camp, NHL Deal
