NHL Daily: Connor McDavid, Rickard Rakell, Jaroslav Halak
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Daily: Will Oilers phenom Connor McDavid earn the NHL’s most lucrative contract when the two sides sit down? Rickard Rakell finally ready to re-join Ducks after nine-game absence, could Jaroslav Halak be a fit for Carolina? and more! (Morning Coffee Headlines)
Grab your morning cup of coffee and join us here at Puck Prose for a compilation of NHL daily links that will help keep you updated with everything going on in the hockey world.
It was another busy schedule after an odd empty night of games on Monday. Apologies, Nashville/Colorado, San Jose/Arizona, and Anaheim/Los Angeles were not finished at the time this was written.
Earlier on, the Rangers shutout the Blues 5-0 at home, Tampa Bay beat up on the Islanders 6-1 on the road, Toronto won against Edmonton in overtime, and Boston defeated Florida 2-1.
As per usual, here are you performers of the previous night:
Nikita Kucherov, TB (2 goals 2 assists)
Jimmy Vesey, NYR (1 goal 2 assists)
Patrick Kane, CHI (1 goal 2 assists)
Nazem Kadri, TOR (2 goals)
Valtteri Filppula, TB (1 goal 1 assist)
Steven Stamkos, TB (1 goal 1 assist)
Marcus Johansson, WSH (1 goal 1 assist)
Artemi Panarin, CHI (1 goal 1 assist)
Artem Anisimov, CHI (1 goal 1 assist)
Chris Kreider, NYR (2 assists)
Brandon Saad, CLB (2 assists)
Zach Werenski (D), CLB (2 assists)
Victor Hedman (D), TB (2 assists)
Slater Koekkoek (D), TB (2 assists)
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH (2 assists)
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (35 save shutout)
Frederik Andersen, TOR (Stopped 44 of 46 shots)
Tuukka Rask, BOS (Stopped 33 of 34 shots)
Corey Crawford, CHI (Stopped 33 of 34 shots)
Craig Anderson, OTT (Stopped 32 of 33 shots)
Robin Lehner, BUF (Stopped 27 of 28 shots)
Ben Bishop, TB (Stopped 26 of 27 shots)
NHL Daily: Morning Coffee Headlines
McDavid’s Next Contract
The two sides can’t officially sit down to talk next contract until July 1st, 2017, but it hasn’t stopped some folks from speculating. Many are wondering if Connor McDavid is poised to become the NHL’s highest paid player. [Sportsnet]
Halak to Carolina?
All NHL
Matthew Barlowe over at Cardiac Cane explores the idea of the Hurricanes acquiring New York Islanders G Jaroslav Halak. It could make sense given their goaltending situation, but it’s a big contract to absorb. [Cardiac Cane]
Rakell Ready to Return to Duks
It took Rakell a while to finally earn that new contract but he got it shortly after the new season began. He has since been sidelined after surgery related to an appendectomy, but it sounds as though the Swede should be ready to re-join the Ducks in the very near future. [The Hockey News]
Drouin Leaves Game Tuesday
New York Islanders D Calvin de Haan caught Jonathan Drouin with his head down on Tuesday in a hit that forced him out of the game. de Haan was assessed a five-minute interference call and five minutes for fighting after Ryan Callahan came to Drouin’s aid. [Bolts by the Bay]
Bolts Hosting Hockey Fights Cancer Night
As the league-wide initiative continues, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the next team to host a hockey fights cancer night on November 3rd. The league is doing a great job bringing awareness and attention to the issue. [NHL.com]
Beauvillier Earned His Spot
Islanders rookie Anthony Beauvillier was entering his 9th game on Tuesday. Matt O’Leary over at Eyes on Isles discusses what the youngster has done thus far to prove he’s exactly where he belongs. [Eyes on Isles]
Next: Updated NHL Award Predictions for November
NHL Daily Morning Rant
We’ve got a brand new month ahead of us here in November. With that, we turn to monthly predictions for the next 30 days:
1. Edmonton Oilers will begin to cool off, start lurking around the Wild-Card spot by the time December rolls around.
2. P.K. Subban, Roman Josi get it rolling in November to help the Preds put together a better record.
3. An injury riddled team without a starter makes a deal to acquire one of the available goaltenders (Ondrej Pavelec, Jaroslav Halak, Mike Condon, etc.)
4. Devan Dubnyk continues strong play between the pipes despite a pile of injuries mounting in Minnesota.
5. Slow starters in the crease begin to heat up. Names include Brian Elliott, Robin Lehner, Frederik Andersen, and Connor Hellebuyck
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