If the New Jersey Devils are providing contract terms, as they did with Adam Larsson's six-year, $25 million deal broken down year-by-year, it's time for every team to get on board. The times they are a-changin'.
Safe to say the Devils no longer operate in Lou’s contractual cone of silence: pic.twitter.com/ifocZaornS
— Mike Halford (@HalfordPHT) July 25, 2015
And now, your lazy Sunday news.
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz spoke about future statues for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. My only issue with this is that he forgot Duncan Keith. (NHL)
Our Colorado frenemies almost make a convincing argument for why the Colorado Avalanche will return to the playoffs in 2015-16. Almost. (Mile High Sticking)
While Troy Brouwer is certainly not T.J. Oshie, he does have his strengths as this article notes. It just might be better for everyone if they can find a way to play him on the third line instead of the second. See: Rattie, Ty. (isportsweb)
On a list of the NHL's ten most loathsome players, Ondrej Pavelec finds himself coming in at number six. Considering Tyler Bozak's tenth and John Scott eighth, that sounds about right. (Yahoo! Sports)
And All The Rest
Greg Wyshynski gives us a point-by-point evisceration of this Globe and Mail Editorial on Quebec City expansion, and it's wonderful. (Yahoo! Sports)
Embedded within that Puck Daddy post was this article examining how and why expansion might help the Pittsburgh Penguins' sales pitch. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Donald Fehr makes the case that NHL players want both the World Cup and Olympics. For the sake of growing the game, I agree. (Sportsnet)
Adam Larsson's contract might look like a bargain by time year three and its pay bump come around. Our New Jersey friends may not be ecstatic about the deal, but they do understand it. (In Lou We Trust)
Adam Gretz thinks that the world of Alex Semin analysis is divided into black and white, where each side thinks they're 100% right. At $1.1 million, is there really all that much the naysayers can take issue with? (CBS Sports)
If Jeff Skinner is still on the block, Jeff Skinner is a player more teams need to be interested in. Also, unless the Carolina Hurricanes start dipping into free agency, their defence next season might be very, very young. (ProHockeyTalk)
Gary Bettman has a lot of off-ice issues on his plate to deal with. How he does so will make for an interesting, if understated chapter in his history. (ESPN)
Is the deluge of player vs. club arbitration numbers new to this summer, or have I simply not been paying attention in previous years? Regardless, it's $7.25 million vs. $5.2 million for Derek Stepan. Bridge deals are awesome, aren't they? (The Hockey Writers)
There are few things in the hockey world more frustrating to me than the San Jose Sharks' listlessness over the past little while. We've now returned to pumping up the core and talking about winning. (ProHockeyTalk)
Braden Holtby's contract sounds like a grand exercise in compromise; a little front-loading here, a reduction in AAV there, and a term that works for both sides. (The Hockey News)
And finally, while the aforementioned Holtby terms may be inadmissible due to UFA years, it does help frame the contractual conversation for arbitration-bound Jonathan Bernier. (TSN)
Thanks for reading! Be sure to give your own hockey news terrible puns in the Comments section below.
