NEWSLETTER
You never know what you might miss when you leave your phone at home to go lazy river rafting in Texas.
Apparently, you can miss ALL THE THINGS.
Hello from the Austin, Texas airport, where I write today’s bullets. I’m heading home and I would like to think that Texas and I both enjoyed our time with each other. But I am ready to be home and take half the voice I have left with me.
While I was on a lazy river rafting trip, being pummeled by direct sunlight for five hours, the NHL lost it’s mind.
• The biggest move of the day came when the Montreal Canadiens, fresh off their run to the Stanley Cup Final, appear to have left franchise goaltender Carey Price unprotected.
Hearing that Carey Price has waived his no-move for purpose of exposure in the expansion draft so that the Habs could protect Jake Allen in the expansion draft. The thought is that Seattle wouldn’t want to pick up the rest of Price’s hefty contract. But I guess we will see.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 18, 2021
• Price waived his no-movement clause and comes with a $10.5M AAV cap hit over the final five years of his current deal. He is 33-years-old, turning 34 in August. Over the past few seasons, Price hasn’t exactly been his elite self, but he is still one of the top-tier goaltenders in the league. But for how long and at what…Price.
• I’m cheeky.
Of note on the Carey Price situation: He's owed an $11M signing bonus in September — a big upfront payout if #seakraken claim him.
Price also only waived his NMC for expansion purposes. So he can't be claimed and flipped in a subsequent trade without his consent.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 18, 2021
• That’s a lot of money for the Kraken to pick up on Day One, but for a goaltender like Price, Seattle could have themselves their own version of the Golden Knights landing Marc-Andre Fleury. That seems to have worked well for them.
#SeaKraken GM Ron Francis: "The one thing we think is extremely, extremely valuable in this environment is cap space."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 17, 2021
• We’ll see what transpires on Wednesday night, but that would be an absolute blockbuster.
• Elsewhere in the league, the Flyers, Predators, and Golden Knights made a triple-swap.
Ellis to PHI for Philippe Myers and Nolan Patrick. Patrick is going to Vegas for Cody Glass https://t.co/I9sxL4TLmV
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 17, 2021
• Not to pump the tires of the Predators, but this is an A+ tweet…
thank you for the memories, nolan pic.twitter.com/nlFP2I8KDW
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) July 17, 2021
• Another team I don’t care for, the St. Louis Blues, are looking to sever ties with Vladimir Tarasenko. After requesting a trade from the team, Tarasenko is now reportedly going to be exposed to the Expansion Draft.
Hearing #stlblues have exposed Vladimir Tarasenko in the Expansion Draft and are protecting Ivan Barbashev.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 17, 2021
• In former Blackhawks news, Andrew Ladd has been traded to the Arizona Coyotes. Like many Midwesterners when they get close to retirement, Ladd will be heading to a warmer climate. Maybe he’ll find more warmth from the Coyotes than he did from the Islanders.
TRADE: We have acquired forward Andrew Ladd, a 2021 2nd round pick, a 2022 conditional 2nd round pick, and a 2023 conditional 3rd round pick from the New York Islanders. https://t.co/YrfSSEOp9i
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 17, 2021
• Wait, Ladd was just given away? That seems illegal…
#Isles also confirm there is no return in the Andrew Ladd trade, just Ladd and the three picks to the Coyotes.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) July 17, 2021
• Harsh.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t let the good vibes last too long for Barclay Goodrow following their Stanley Cup victory.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have acquired forward Barclay Goodrow from Tampa Bay in exchange for a 7th-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and have acquired a 4th-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and defenseman Nick DeSimone from Vegas in exchange for Brett Howden.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 17, 2021
• Goodrow is set to be a free agent, and he would have been a great target for the Blackhawks in the market, but it appears that the Rangers will work out a deal with him,
• There were a plethora of more moves yesterday as well, including Jared McCann to the Maple Leafs and Jason Dickinson to the Canucks, just to add a few more.
• Truly wild to see that kind of movement prior to the Expansion Draft, something we didn’t see in this kind of quantity when the Golden Knights started as a franchise. But Seattle Kraken General Manager Ron Francis has a good point…
#SeaKraken GM Ron Francis says he's not surprised by today's busy NHL trade activity even though it didn't happen before Vegas expansion in 2017: "The rules were the same but they had four years to prepare."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 17, 2021
• So now we wait…until later today when the protection lists are made public. And then we wait again until Wednesday night to find out who will become the first group of Kraken players.
FYI…On Wednesday:
– 10 am eastern. Deadline for @SeattleKraken to submit its Expansion Draft selections.
– 8 pm eastern. Official announcement of the Kraken’s selections.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) July 17, 2021
• In the Blackhawks world, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic have the scoop on who Chicago has protected and exposed, according to their sources.
From @MarkLazerus and me, the Blackhawks’ expansion protection list, according to a source: https://t.co/5laMcWKoCp
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 17, 2021
• Reportedly protected: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Brandon Hagel, Dylan Strome, David Kämpf, Henrik Borgström, Caleb Jones, Connor Murphy, Riley Stillman, and Kevin Lankinen.
• Notable players reportedly left exposed include Calvin de Haan, Adam Gaudette, Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, and Nikita Zadorov.
• Not protecting Zadorov is a very interesting move from the Blackhawks. I’ve said it before, but I don’t think Zadorov, at the price he is asking for, is worth it for Chicago to bring him back. Ron Francis seems like a smart guy, I wouldn’t think he and the front office in Seattle see the same thing in Zadorov that the Blackhawks did when he was acquired from Colorado. Or maybe they think they can get him for a reasonable price in negotiations. We’ll find out more when the official lists are announced later today.
• Out of the group that has been reportedly exposed, if I am the Kraken, I would take de Haan. Originally, my thought process was that Seattle would need an affordable goaltender to fit one of the more top-tier goalies available. So I thought Malcom Subban was the potential target. That still may be the case, but with the option to select Carey Price, Seattle might go in a different direction when they come to select a Chicago player.
• I’m excited for Wednesday. I am also excited to sleep in my bed for the next 20 hours.
• That’ll do it for today. Hope you all enjoy your Sundays!
• REMINDER: Be sure to send in your questions for Monday’s Mailbag segment! Use the hashtag #BNHawksMailbag on Twitter or send them to Mario.tirabassi at bleacher nation dot com.
