In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to do without their star defenseman for a few days, while the Edmonton Oilers will get one of their key defensemen back. The Arizona Coyotes have a new GM, but he may have to deal with the rumored fallout of a low ball offer to one of the team’s stars. Plus, how long will Sullivan be there if rumors of a connection to a different former manager are accurate? Finally, Sidney Crosby provides an update on his playing status.
Hedman Didn’t Travel With Team
Victor Herman didn’t head to Toronto with the rest of the Lightning roster for the beginning of play-ins Sunday. Instead, he stayed back to deal with a personal matter. Word is his absence won’t be a long one and he’ll join the roster for the first game of the series against the Washington Capitals. That said, he will miss the exhibition game.
Also, head coach Jon Cooper said that Steven Stamkos remains day-to-day for the Lightning but is not expected to participate in the exhibition game either. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the forward is hoping to increase how much he’s involved in practice once the team gets settled into their hub city. “It’s still in the window of time to get him back,” said Cooper.
Oilers Nurse Ready To Go
Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that Oilers fans can breathe easy when it comes to the status of defenseman Darnell Nurse. He was forced to miss a scrimmage on Saturday with an undisclosed injury, many saying he tweaked something during Thursday’s practice. The good news is, he’s expected to be ready to go.
Leavins also covers a couple of other injury questions in Edmonton when he writes:
Darnell Nurse sat out the scrimmage Saturday out of an abundance of caution, after what has been described as a “tweak” at practice earlier in the week. He’s fine. Riley Sheahan left scrimmage early with an injury. Hard to see, was it his back? No word on how serious. James Neal looks 100% from his foot injuries and much quicker. No COVID-subtractions for the Oil so far which should be an advantage.
source – ‘As 11 NHL teams join the Edmonton Oilers bubble, a vital ingredient is still missing: 9 Things’ – Kurt Leavins – Edmonton Journal – 07/26/2020
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Sullivan Picked to Replace John Chayka
Immediately following statements by both the Arizona Coyotes and their former general manager John Chayka, rumors started to surface about what was really going on and who might be connected to the organization as a new GM. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the team had named Steve Sullivan their interim general manager, but that’s not where the story ends by any means.
Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal writes:
Steve Sullivan is a sharp hockey guy, thrust into the GM role with Coyotes but we’ve also heard Peter Chiarelli’s name for awhile in a management capacity in the desert. So we’ll see…
That would be incredibly interesting considering the history between Chiarelli and winger Taylor Hall and buzz the Coyotes met with Hall earlier this week over dinner to potentially discuss staying with the team. If there is any truth to the Chiarelli rumors, one would have to assume Hall’s exit from the Coyotes organization would be a given.
More than one scribe has connected Chiarelli as The Athletic’s Scott Burnside adds:
“Several sources indicated former Boston and Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli is someone league officials would like to help find his way back to the NHL after a disastrous turn in Edmonton and think that Arizona would be a good landing place.”
source – ‘Could Peter Chiarelli really end up in Arizona with Taylor Hall? Mind boggling’ – David Staples – Edmonton Journal – 07/27/2020
Coyotes Low Ball Taylor Hall?
Speaking of Taylor Hall, in the midst of all the news surrounding John Chayka and the Arizona Coyotes, reports suggest the team presented a low offer to Taylor Hall that the winger isn’t likely to accept.
John Gambadoro of Arizona of 98.7 FM in Phoenix is now reporting, “Heard the offer to Taylor Hall was 5 years for about $7 mill per year so roughly $35 million.” While some will argue that’s fair in a flat cap situation, $7 million per season has to be considered low for how prominent a player Hall will be in this year’s free-agent class. The assumption is he’ll get more on the open market.
Related: Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson Trade Revisited
Sidney Crosby Hopes He’s Good to Go
The Pittsburgh Penguins official Twitter account notes the team is hoping to have Sidney Crosby ready to play against Montreal starting August 1 and Crosby updated everyone on his status. He said, “I’m hoping I can skate with the team on Monday and take it from there.” He added that he wants to play the exhibition game and noted he felt pretty good when he skated with the team. “It was good to get out there with the guys.”
Popular Penguins Twitter account Pens Inside Scoop quoted Crosby who also said:
“Ideally I would’ve liked to get in a little more of the scrimmages and game situation things. But with that being said, I think the fact that I’ve been able to skate (on my own) for a good chunk of time will help getting through that.”
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