Jeremy Laura: 3 free agents likely gone, media thoughts on Berggren, Johansson and Sandin

The teams like the decentralization of the draft because their conversations can not be overheard by the next table and others can not see who they are talking to if nothing is face to face.

The teams like the decentralization of the draft because their conversations can not be overheard by the next table and others can not see who they are talking to if nothing is face to face.
- HenryHockey

I’d heard that complaint but it wasn’t a majority complaint. It came a few years back. This is a $ move at this point. It sounds strange, but if you can talk to someone face to face it’s a completely different dynamic. I’ll do a “money” write up soon. Waiting for SCF numbers along with some other updates. The reason given as the final impetus was scouts flying in just to fly out and it made things a little more hectic. They’ll adjust but I think it will impact some of those last minute deals.

Virtual drafts saves money, and allows teams to be more discreet in who they speak to. Win-win.

One problem for Detroit is the guys you want gone all have term, while the guys you'd like to come back are UFAs.

So Kane and Sprong are gone. But still stuck with Fabbri and Copp. Ghost could walk, but Holl, Chiarot, Matta, Petry all under contract. I can't see Reimer wanting to join a 3-body crease, but Husso is back.

This severely limits the ability to improve unless Yzerman can shed some of this dead weight...all guys he signed by the way so this is no longer cleaning up Holland’s mess, but his own mess!

Berggren requested a trade back in December. Very unlikely he’s back next season.

It’s DM time! Shoot me a note if you can. Utah now has a team “The Outlaws” and are tasked with an insane amount of work. For those that remember, when Vegas first committed to having a team, they did a “sample” season ticket email, took those numbers and constructed the business model. Seattle had a similar process. For Utah, my guess is a retrofitting of an ice rink where the Jazz plays. Sounds simple? Remember, the ice goes under the wood floor. So they will have to find a window to tear up the floor, lay down the cooling system, bring in the pads//flooring that gets used to gear up for basketball or other live events, get all the boards, and get season tickets squeezed into the summer window.

I want to know your thoughts. If you’ve been to a concert during hockey season you can feel the floor slip a little just depending on the configuration. Apart from the purchase, the expense is going to be impressive. There’s a new “snag” in the broadcast side but that’s for another week. For now, give me your thoughts on the window and process Utah will have to put in place to be ready for training camp/pre season etc.

Virtual drafts saves money, and allows teams to be more discreet in who they speak to. Win-win.

One problem for Detroit is the guys you want gone all have term, while the guys you'd like to come back are UFAs.

So Kane and Sprong are gone. But still stuck with Fabbri and Copp. Ghost could walk, but Holl, Chiarot, Matta, Petry all under contract. I can't see Reimer wanting to join a 3-body crease, but Husso is back.

This severely limits the ability to improve unless Yzerman can shed some of this dead weight...all guys he signed by the way so this is no longer cleaning up Holland’s mess, but his own mess!
- HockeyBuzzed

I only disagree in this. Yes they save money and add discretion. But, deals are done in real time (like the old stock market setup). I’d written about the free agents that seem to indicate they are leaving. Fabbri has one more year, Copp and Holl are the two I’d really like to see gone but it’s going to be costly to try and move them. This is Steve’s team and I’d really like to see the D get a 3 person makeover if possible. Copp is making way too much for the role they “liked” him in with Rasmussen (opinion).

Berggren requested a trade back in December. Very unlikely he’s back next season.
- Feds91Stammer

Yeah, I still have the bruises for mentioning his rejection of extensions and some disconnect between him and the team. The write up mentions Yzerman dropping the name to potentially add value and interest. But any time you mention JB not coming back watch out, it feels like you ruined a surprise party.

Utah Outlaws not official. They've only trademarked the name along with a few others for a possible choice. The others are the Blizzard, Fury, Utah HC, Utah Hockey Club. I've seen nothing else about the Outlaws being official anywhere. I know Eklund just posted short while ago it's Outlaws, just haven't seen anything. And the owner, Ryan Smith, says they will take their time to get it right. But I do like Outlaws as a nickname. Sounds western.

Utah Outlaws not official. They've only trademarked the name along with a few others for a possible choice. The others are the Blizzard, Fury, Utah HC, Utah Hockey Club. I've seen nothing else about the Outlaws being official anywhere. I know Eklund just posted short while ago it's Outlaws, just haven't seen anything. And the owner, Ryan Smith, says they will take their time to get it right. But I do like Outlaws as a nickname. Sounds western.
- Wingsfan61

That’s actually an interesting twist. They should want to get it right, but how much time do they really have to do that? Going back to the Vegas start. There was some back and forth on the name, and the season ticket forms had signatures from way out east, as far as New York. I think “Knights” was the issue so they went with Golden Knights”. The strangest part of all of this is that the group getting the team now may have been the group offering to take the team since 2022.

The reason the name is such a big deal is the official season tickets and clothing line/fan gear. There’s usually more of a heads up when an expansion/relocation is announced. Probably the best look at what it takes to get things together is to volunteer at a training camp or get to know the arena people. Even with everything in place, they have to completely revamp how things are done to facilitate NHL pros. Utah seems to be starting from scratch and has to have a lot of things in place by September

That’s actually an interesting twist. They should want to get it right, but how much time do they really have to do that? Going back to the Vegas start. There was some back and forth on the name, and the season ticket forms had signatures from way out east, as far as New York. I think “Knights” was the issue so they went with Golden Knights”. The strangest part of all of this is that the group getting the team now may have been the group offering to take the team since 2022.

The reason the name is such a big deal is the official season tickets and clothing line/fan gear. There’s usually more of a heads up when an expansion/relocation is announced. Probably the best look at what it takes to get things together is to volunteer at a training camp or get to know the arena people. Even with everything in place, they have to completely revamp how things are done to facilitate NHL pros. Utah seems to be starting from scratch and has to have a lot of things in place by September
- Jeremy Laura

Well, Ryan Smith does have the prerogative of changing his mind about the nickname. Maybe someone brought that name to his attention and he really liked the sound of it. I know I do.

Well, Ryan Smith does have the prerogative of changing his mind about the nickname. Maybe someone brought that name to his attention and he really liked the sound of it. I know I do.
- Wingsfan61

I think it’s a great nickname. They just need to get names and logos onto stuff FAST. On demand clothiers/souvenirs are great but they’re going to want inventory. That takes a little longer. I know of one restaurant that went out of business (western theme) and they’ll have to make sure they don’t get into a scemantics battle. “Bill Knapps” is out of business, but the name is still owned and used on frozen/bakery items

Berggren requested a trade back in December. Very unlikely he’s back next season.
- Feds91Stammer

If he truly did, he'd be gone already.
On the contrary, SY was talking about him needing waivers next season and that he will most likely make the roster, if he earns it.
So, not buying it.

If he truly did, he'd be gone already.
On the contrary, SY was talking about him needing waivers next season and that he will most likely make the roster, if he earns it.
So, not buying it.
- StargateSG1

A lot of you aren’t. But the usage this year, contract hiatus and rumored asking price are all around this. Berggren may have gotten a huge boost with the departures and things can change, but this situation has been bizarre.

I only disagree in this. Yes they save money and add discretion. But, deals are done in real time (like the old stock market setup). I’d written about the free agents that seem to indicate they are leaving. Fabbri has one more year, Copp and Holl are the two I’d really like to see gone but it’s going to be costly to try and move them. This is Steve’s team and I’d really like to see the D get a 3 person makeover if possible. Copp is making way too much for the role they “liked” him in with Rasmussen (opinion).
- Jeremy Laura

You're not going to see a wholesale makeover when the people you want gone all have term. Yzerman likely isn't going to waste draft capital to dump people like Holl, Copp, Petry, etc...He signed them. His mistakes. He'll probably just ride it out for another year.

As for trades on the draft floor, the world has changed. Any trade has to go through lawyers and cap experts. Not like the old days when two GMs could start throwing out names and make a deal in 10 minutes. Swapping draft picks is easy, but moving a roster player takes many hours of planning and vetting.

A lot of you aren’t. But the usage this year, contract hiatus and rumored asking price are all around this. Berggren may have gotten a huge boost with the departures and things can change, but this situation has been bizarre.
- Jeremy Laura

I'd gladly take him. Can't believe they couldn't find a fit for him in the top-9 this year.

You're not going to see a wholesale makeover when the people you want gone all have term. Yzerman likely isn't going to waste draft capital to dump people like Holl, Copp, Petry, etc...He signed them. His mistakes. He'll probably just ride it out for another year.

As for trades on the draft floor, the world has changed. Any trade has to go through lawyers and cap experts. Not like the old days when two GMs could start throwing out names and make a deal in 10 minutes. Swapping draft picks is easy, but moving a roster player takes many hours of planning and vetting.
- HockeyBuzzed

Not a wholesale makeover but we’ve heard even recently of picks that slid and opened the door for a deal. You also lose at the table in the moment discussion amongst the staff. Yzerman came out at the deadline and talked about a deal that just couldn’t get done. After the first (fill in the blank) number of picks there are those calls and concessions that finalize deals. Now you have at least one team with 13 players almost at the cap. Moves will have to be made this summer with a max 4.25 raise at this point. As for the dead weight, we’ll have to see if anything can be done. Once $ for mo and Ray hit it will be interesting. Appreciate the back and forth. Making a bad day better. Thanks for that

I'd gladly take him. Can't believe they couldn't find a fit for him in the top-9 this year.
- jmatchett383

It didn’t make sense to most of the fan base that chimes in. Was an odd shift.

It’s DM time! Shoot me a note if you can. Utah now has a team “The Outlaws” and are tasked with an insane amount of work. For those that remember, when Vegas first committed to having a team, they did a “sample” season ticket email, took those numbers and constructed the business model. Seattle had a similar process. For Utah, my guess is a retrofitting of an ice rink where the Jazz plays. Sounds simple? Remember, the ice goes under the wood floor. So they will have to find a window to tear up the floor, lay down the cooling system, bring in the pads//flooring that gets used to gear up for basketball or other live events, get all the boards, and get season tickets squeezed into the summer window.

I want to know your thoughts. If you’ve been to a concert during hockey season you can feel the floor slip a little just depending on the configuration. Apart from the purchase, the expense is going to be impressive. There’s a new “snag” in the broadcast side but that’s for another week. For now, give me your thoughts on the window and process Utah will have to put in place to be ready for training camp/pre season etc.
- Jeremy Laura

The arena in SLC has hosted NHL pre-season games before, so the infrastructure and knowledge to install a rink is in place. There's a you tube video out there showing how it's done. Google "Delta Center hockey rink".

That’s actually an interesting twist. They should want to get it right, but how much time do they really have to do that? Going back to the Vegas start. There was some back and forth on the name, and the season ticket forms had signatures from way out east, as far as New York. I think “Knights” was the issue so they went with Golden Knights”. The strangest part of all of this is that the group getting the team now may have been the group offering to take the team since 2022.

The reason the name is such a big deal is the official season tickets and clothing line/fan gear. There’s usually more of a heads up when an expansion/relocation is announced. Probably the best look at what it takes to get things together is to volunteer at a training camp or get to know the arena people. Even with everything in place, they have to completely revamp how things are done to facilitate NHL pros. Utah seems to be starting from scratch and has to have a lot of things in place by September
- Jeremy Laura

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I thought the original name of the Vegas team was to be the Black Knights. The league nixed that due to some similarity to the Blackhawks. The Vegas owner is a graduate of West Point whose sports teams are known as the Black Knights .

The arena in SLC has hosted NHL pre-season games before, so the infrastructure and knowledge to install a rink is in place. There's a you tube video out there showing how it's done. Google "Delta Center hockey rink".
- boilermaker100

I’ll take a look. There was a new system mandated in the past year or so. More “energy efficient” etc. once I take a look I’ll do some thoughts. Centre Ice arena has hosted Detroit’s pre season in Traverse City for more than 20 years. They had to raise millions to upgrade the ice machines to be able to continue to host the event even though they have year round hockey. There are a lot subtle changes going on in that part. That’s why the collegiate situation was even worse. There’s no way they got all the standards in place with that going on, and the NHL could well give an arena a one year pass just to have it ready in time. They have essentially 4 months to get the sponsors, logos, swags, equipment and everything for a full franchise to run in and taken care of

Utah Outlaws not official. They've only trademarked the name along with a few others for a possible choice. The others are the Blizzard, Fury, Utah HC, Utah Hockey Club. I've seen nothing else about the Outlaws being official anywhere. I know Eklund just posted short while ago it's Outlaws, just haven't seen anything. And the owner, Ryan Smith, says they will take their time to get it right. But I do like Outlaws as a nickname. Sounds western.
- Wingsfan61

If that's the chosen name it would be cool if they can somehow incorporate "Utah Outlaws" into one script utilizing the U T _ A in Outlaws and making a H somehow in there.

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I thought the original name of the Vegas team was to be the Black Knights. The league nixed that due to some similarity to the Blackhawks. The Vegas owner is a graduate of West Point whose sports teams are known as the Black Knights .
- boilermaker100

The trademark issue, if I remember correctly, had something to do with the word “knight”. There was some other team or entity that still owned it

The arena in SLC has hosted NHL pre-season games before, so the infrastructure and knowledge to install a rink is in place. There's a you tube video out there showing how it's done. Google "Delta Center hockey rink".
- boilermaker100

Ok, here’s the press link: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...hs-plan-for-delta-center/

They are doing upgrades. Here’s a quote: Ryan Smith explains the plan to make the Delta Center more hockey friendly with commissioner Gary Bettman trusting the plan of the upgrade.

A preseason game can have more of a Winter Classic setup. This stadium needs the full treatment. There will be building modificaitons. We’ve all seen the process of painting the floor. For a full season of hockey they need to have things constructed properly. Infrastructure isn’t there. The good news? 17.5k capacity. I am shocked at the amount of work they’re going to have to get done. By the end, this could easily be a 2B investment for this group with an incredibly short turn around to get everything ready

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I thought the original name of the Vegas team was to be the Black Knights. The league nixed that due to some similarity to the Blackhawks. The Vegas owner is a graduate of West Point whose sports teams are known as the Black Knights .
- boilermaker100

It was a debate with the Army. https://www.nbcsports.com...-trademark-vegas-responds