RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the Rangers leaders the last couple of seasons now has a new team.
The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to a deal with right wing Jesper Fast on a three-year contract.
The team announced the agreement Saturday, saying it would the deal will have an average annual value of $2 million through the 2022-23 season. Carolina president and general manager Don Waddell called Fast “an intelligent, versatile player who fits the mold” of how the Hurricanes play under Rod Brind’Amour.
EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers are bringing back netminder Mike Smith on a one-year, $2-million deal, the team announced Saturday.
Smith, 38, appeared in 39 games for the Oilers in 2019-20, winning 19 of his 37 starts and finishing the campaign with a .902 save percentage, 2.95 goals-against average, and with one shutout to his name.
The veteran spent two years in Calgary prior to his Oilers stint, preceded by runs in Phoenix, Tampa Bay and Dallas.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN –
The Minnesota Wild are strengthening their depth, adding a experienced minor leaguer. The team has announced that they have signed defenseman Dakota Mermis to a one-year, two-way contract. Both players will make the minimum $700K at the NHL level; Mermis will get $250K in the AHL.
Mermis, 26, has a chance of making an impact on the NHL roster after playing in ten games with the New Jersey Devils this season. A productive, puck-moving defenseman, Mermis has shown an ability to contribute offensively even as a spot starter. Although the Wild have a solid top-six locked in, Mermis should compete for a roster spot as an extra defender.
EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers have made their first splash in the free agency market by signing center Kyle Turris to a two-year contract.
The contract is reported to pay Turris, who was bought out by the Nashville Predators last week, an AAV of $1.65-million. The 31-year-old right-shot is a native of New Westminster, B.C. and has played in 12 NHL seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators.
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed goaltender Brian Elliott to a one-year contract extension worth an average annual value (AAV) of $1.5M, according to President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Chuck Fletcher.
“Brian is a quality, veteran goaltender who is also an important part of our leadership group. His preparation and work ethic are exemplary,” said Fletcher. “With Brian and Carter, we believe we have a strong goaltending duo who have each had success and work very well with each other.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – The LA Kings have signed defenseman Sean Walker to a four-year contract extension, according to Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake. The contract carries an average annual value (AAV) of $2.65 million.
The 5-11, 195-pound defenseman registered 24 points (5-19=24) in 70 games last season, his first complete NHL campaign. He ranked second among team defensemen in points, average time on ice (18:50) and shots (127).
Al Montoya, the first Cuban American to play in the NHL, says he was also the first native Spanish speaker in the 100-year history of the league.
Montoya finds both facts amazing, but also believes members of the Hispanic community would fall in love with the game as he did while growing up in Chicago. That is as long as they’re given the opportunity to try the sport.
“I realized the weight of what being the first Cuban American was the day I got drafted,” Montoya said. “You’re not representing yourself anymore. You’re representing the community. And I embraced it.”
He spent 15 years in professional hockey as a goaltender, but it’s also his family history that results in Montoya speaking with such pride.
Montoya’s mother was born and raised in Cuba. His grandparents fled Cuba and from the Castro regime in 1963 for the United States. They went from being landowners in Cuba to Montoya’s grandfather “selling strawberries on the side of the road and working at McDonald’s,” Montoya shared.
It’s the work ethic from his grandparents, and his mother working as a doctor, that has rubbed off on Montoya, now 35 years old. He recalls his grandfather telling him how grateful he was for the United States, the place that gave him his freedom.
“One of the prouder moments of my life is standing on that blue line or that red line, looking up at our flag and knowing the sacrifices that they made to give me that opportunity of freedom,” Montoya said. “They passed it down to me. I can’t say enough about it.”
Raised by his single mother and his grandparents along with three brothers, Montoya followed his older brother in playing hockey. Montoya started out as a skater, taking up hockey at 3 years old. He began hockey as a forward, but the next year, his team didn’t have a goalie. He remembers playing in a house league before that, where the goaltender bag cycled between teammates, allowing everyone a shot to try the position.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole is a 10-year NHL veteran, two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he already has one of the best beards in the 2020 NHL playoffs.
He also was kind enough to spend some time on his off day in the bubble answering questions from fans, submitted to ESPN.
So as the Avs prepare for the next game in their series against the Arizona Coyotes, let’s hear from Ian on how he’s combating boredom in the bubble, what the food is like, why it looks like he’s eating his jersey during warm-ups, and of course, the latest fashion choices from teammate Nikita Zadorov.
Michael G: Do you mark your beard to figure out how much is a regular-season beard and how much is a playoff beard?
Cole: When you’re confident in your team, there is no difference between a regular-season beard and a playoff beard. But it is funny to see it grow. I pretty much trim it up or shave it before my headshot for the year, so it’s funny to look back and see a little bit of scruff or something, and right now it’s just … out of control.
DENVER, CO- Avalanche forward J.T. Compher skates to an opposing goaltender’s crease on a mission to create havoc on the forecheck, and even if it’s ugly, to put in the puck.
“That’s how you score goals,” Compher said. “Getting to the net.”
Colorado’s third-line center is more than just talk. Remember Saturday?
In the Avs’ 4-3 overtime defeat against Vegas, Compher scored the third-period equalizer when he bullied Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt by knocking him off-balance with a two-gloved shove — and creating the small space required to rebound a Nazem Kadri shot attempt back into the net.
“A big goal from the Compher line getting it in on the forecheck and bringing us back to even,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said postgame. “Going into the playoffs, you have to expect that teams are going to check you hard. That’s the goal of every team.”
Lately, Colorado’s third “Compher line” hasn’t been afraid to bring the pain. In three games of Western Conference round-robin seeding play, the trio of Compher, Andre Burakovsky, and Joonas Donskoi combined for eight points (four goals) with a net-aggressive brand of hockey.
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