NHL Weekly Roundup: Pre-Draft Rumours, Cup Finals & More

St.Louis Blues Rumour Mill

After the St. Louis Blues heartbreaking loss in Game 6 of the WCF, many questions face the organization heading into the offseason.

Union and Blue

Captain David Backes, who is the longest-serving active player in the Blues organization, is a pending UFA. He rejected a 3 year, $5.5M deal offer from GM Doug Armstrong earlier in the year, but recently let everyone know he has no intentions of leaving St. Louis, telling reporters there’s “no question” he wants to return to the Show Me State.

ESPN‘s Craig Custance had a few words to say about the Blues’ offseason, suggesting that the Blues re-sign head coach Ken Hitchcock to a one year deal, and also thinks the Blues should trade star defender Kevin Shattenkirk.

If Shattenkirk hits the trading block, he will have no shortage of suitors. The Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings have been linked to Shattenkirk and will most likely be inquiring about his availability this summer.

Is there a rift between Vladimir Tarasenko and the Blues management? According to the St. Louis Today , Tarasenko declined to speak to any media whatsoever at the Blues year-end press conference and this once again raised questions about his relationship with coach Hitchcock.

Rumours were at their strongest during game 7 against Chicago in round one, when a clip surfaced of no.91 expressing some anger toward his coach, batting Hitchcock’s hand away after the coach tried to explain why he snubbed the sniper of power play time.

At that time, both player and coach denied any rift between them. Now? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Rumors

Stamkos Rumours Heating Up Once Again…

After the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, rumours once again started to swirl about the fate of star forward Steven Stamkos.

More from NHL News

• Should the NHL make referees give postgame interviews?
• Why Carolina Hurricanes fans should be excited for the 2023-24 season
• Why any NHL team would be lucky to add Phil Kessel to their roster
• The New Original Six Teams of the PWHL has been revealed
• The Top 5 Centers in the NHL Today Might Not Be Who You Think

Logically, signing Stamkos would not be the best option. The Bolts performed just as good (or even better?) when Stamkos was out with a blood clot.

His absence gives forwards Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin and other prospects (i.e. Brayden Point, Dennis Yan, Adam Erne) more ice time and a chance to expand into bigger roles that they proved this summer they are capable of.

However, Stamkos himself does want to return to the Lightning, as he clearly expressed to reporters on Friday.

“I certainly hope to be back. We obviously have unfinished business here,” Stamkos said. “This group has been unbelievable, the city has been unbelievable for me,” he added. “I can’t believe it’s been eight years already. Time flies.” GM Steve Yzerman said re-signing Stamkos is one of “many priorities” for a teamat the year end press conference.

Are they telling the truth? Keep in mind both Ben Bishop and Victor Hedman are pending UFA’s in the summer of 2017. If Yzerman truly is big on signing Stammer, he’ll have a lot on his hands this coming year.

Is the solution to trade Bishop now and re-sign Stamkos?

Related Story: Top 100 Forwards Under 25 Years Old

What about Jonathan Drouin? The 20-year-old has had one heck of year, requesting a trade in November, holding out in March, rejoining the AHL in April, and getting called up to the Lightning for the playoffs.

Funny how feelings between the player and GM can melt so quickly. But have they? Drouin, the 3rd overall pick in 2013, impressed with his play this postseason, but no one was really sure if he’d want to return for 2016-17. However, both Drouin and GM Yzerman both made it clear there is no longer a rift between the two:

“I still have a lot of stuff to prove, a lot that I still need to do,’’ Drouin said. “But hopefully I can work my way up the ladder with my play. I mean, I want to be a part of those last-minute plays and that stuff and Coop gave me a chance with that (in Game 7) and that was nice. “And you know, everybody here has been great. When all that stuff happened, the guys never stopped reaching out to me so it feels like I never left a little bit, but I’m definitely happy to be back and feeling that love stuff that we had at the beginning of the year. “So yeah, I definitely want to be here. I love the way this ended. It was a weird and kind of different year for sure, but this finish was good and this is definitely where I want to play. I mean, it’s definitely not the way you want to do it, but the results were good.’’ “I just go back to that Islander game where he got hit (with his head down while coming across the ice by Thomas Hickey), and he got up, got to the bench and then went to the locker room,’’ Yzerman said. “But then he came back (a period later) and played again and finished the game, and you know there are not a lot of guys that would do that. I just think that showed me more than anything what he’s about. “The skill and all that, he makes us a better team. It’s as simple as that. He makes us a better team. He can do some things. He’s a talented young player that’s only going to get better.’’

Next: Stanley Cup Finals

On The Stanley Cup Finals…

It’s almost here! The Stanley Cup Finals start on Monday, May 30th. The Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks will be going head to head in a best of 7 series to decide who is worthy of the hardest trophy to win on earth.

The two teams were 1-1-0 against each other, with San Jose winning 3-1 in November while Pittsburgh took the second season series game 5-1 in the new year. To give you a better breakdown of the teams, I will compare who’s better on offense, defense, goaltending, and my overall prediction.

Pucks and Pitchforks

Offense: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have an offense that has a perfect combination of speed (Carl Hagelin, Eric Fehr, Conor Sheary), grittiness (Matt Cullen, Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl) and talent (Sidney Crosby, Nick Bonino, Evgeni Malkin Phil Kessel). It’s come together perfectly this postseason and almost everybody in the lineup has scored a clutch goal at some point in time.

Kris Letang rivals Brent Burns offense from the blueline. The Sharks have a great offense, but they’re a 3 line team. Their top 2 lines are just as good as the Pens, their 3rd line is adequate, but it falls off after that. They’ve been heavily relying on four players for offense: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Brent Burns. That needs to change.

Defense: San Jose Sharks

With the loss of Trevor Daley, the Sharks are the clear winner in this category. If Marc-Edouard Vlasic plays the way he did in game 7, that’s a series changer. The depth additions of Brendon Dillon and Roman Polak are great reinforcements as well.

As for Pittsburgh, their blueline is solid but unspectacular. Olli Maatta has been great in the playoffs and Justin Schultz has stepped up his game, but will it be enough to stop the Sharks?

Goaltending: Tie

I honestly can’t pick a winner here. The 22-year-old Matt Murray, although extremely talented, has barely any NHL experience and has never played in an event like this. Backup (for now) Marc-Andre Fleury has in 2008 & 2009, but he has a history of being shaky in the playoffs and looked off his game in Game 5 of the ECF.

James Reimer, the backup for the Sharks, has good skills but the last time played in the playoffs, 2013, he let in 3 goals with a little over 9 minutes left in Game 7 of the East quarterfinals, letting Boston take the series in OT. Has he changed? Sure, but how much?

Starter Martin Jones was the backup in the Kings 2014 Cup run, so he has a ring and has seen Jonathan Quick get the job done. He only has 99 NHL games under his belt though? Can he do it?

Who Wins The Cup? Pittsburgh

This is a razor-thin decision, but I have Pens on top after all is said and done. From the very start of the postseason I had them winning the Cup and today my opinion is no different. Both teams have the hunger, and the talent, so it comes down to who outlasts who. I’ve got the Pens all the way.

Next: World Cup of Hockey

On The World Cup Of Hockey…

Friday May 27th, the official World Cup of Hockey rosters were announced. Via The Hockey News, here’s a list of the rosters for the 8 teams in the tournament (Finland, Sweden, Russia, Canada, USA, Czech Republic, Team Europe, North American Young Stars):

FINLAND

G Mikko Koskinen, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

D Jyrki Jokipakka, Calgary Flames
D Sami Lepisto, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
D Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars
D Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Penguins
D Ville Pokka, Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
D Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres
D Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks

F Sebastian Aho, Karpat Oulu (SM-liiga)
F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
F Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks
F Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild
F Erik Haula, Minnesota Wild
F Jussi Jokinen, Florida Panthers
F Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild
F Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs
F Lauri Korpikoski, Edmonton Oilers
F Patrik Laine, Tappara Tempere (SM-liiga)
F Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues
F Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks

Related Story: Top 50 Defensemen Under 25 Years Old

SWEDEN

G Robin Lehner, Buffalo Sabres
G Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
G Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

D Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks
D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
D Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings
D Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
F Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins
F Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
F Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
F Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
F Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
F Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche
F Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues
F Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings

Related Story: Top 20 Goaltenders Under 25 Years Old

CZECH REPUBLIC

G Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings
G Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers
G Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets

D Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers
D Michal Jordan, Carolina Hurricanes
D Michal Kempny, Chicago Blackhawks
D Zbynek Michalek, Arizona Coyotes
D Jakub Nakladal, Calgary Flames
D Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks
D Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Radek Faksa, Dallas Stars
F Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames
F Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes
F Ales Hemsky, Dallas Stars
F Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
F Dmitrij Jaskin, St. Louis Blues
F David Krejci, Boston Bruins
F Milan Michalek, Toronto Maple Leafs
F Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
F Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
F Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL)
F Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers

Related Story: Offseason Goals for All 30 Teams

RUSSIA

G Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
G Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Alexei Emelin, Montreal Canadiens
D Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers
D Alexey Marchenko, Detroit Red Wings
D Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens
D Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals
D Slava Voynov, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
D Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto Maple Leafs

F Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
F Evgeny Dadonov, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
F Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders
F Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
F Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
F Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks
F Vadim Shipachyov, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
F Ivan Telegin, CSKA Moscow (KHL)
F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

Related Story: Top 10 Prospects on the Planet

EUROPE

G Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark)
G Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders (Germany)
G Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia)

D Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia)
D Christian Ehrhoff, Chicago Blackhawks (Germany)
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland)
D Luca Sbisa, Vancouver Canucks (Switzerland)
D Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany)
D Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia)
D Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland)

F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Philadelphia Flyers (France)
F Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark)
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany)
F Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings (Slovakia)
F Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark)
F Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia)
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia)
F Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild (Switzerland)
F Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark)
F Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes (Germany)
F Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia)
F Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria)
F Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway)

Related Story: Toronto Maple Leafs End of Year Review, Grades

NORTH AMERICA

G John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
G Connor Hellebuyck, Manitoba Moose (AHL)
G Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

D Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
D Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
D Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg Jets

F Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
F Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
F Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
F Auston Matthews, Zurich SC Lions (Swiss NLA)
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
F J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
F Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
F Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Related Story: Aly's Mock Draft - First Round (Pre-Draft Day Edition)

UNITED STATES

G Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning
G Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
G Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

D Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche
D Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
D Matt Niskanen, Washington Capitals
D Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

F Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings
F David Backes, St. Louis Blues
F Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
F T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
F Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
F Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
F Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
F Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
F James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

Related Story: Future Stars of 2016-17

CANADA

G Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

D Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
D Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
D Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks
D Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

F Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
F Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
F Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
F Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
F John Tavares, New York Islanders
F Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
F Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

Related Story: 2018 Olympic Participation in Doubt for NHL

Who’s your pick to win the tournament? As of now, here’s my prediction

Gold: Team Canada (hard decision eh?)

Silver: North American Youngstars (his team is the speediest and has the talent to surprise)

Bronze: Sweden (an over all solid team, but their aging)

Next: The Leftovers: Auvitu, Kings, 2014 Draft Picks

The Leftovers: Devils Sign France Defender, Brown Stripped Of Captaincy

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

Friday morning, the New Jersey Devils announced they have signed French defender Yohann Auvitu to a one year entry-level contract.

Given his age, Auvitu is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Auvitu impressed in 7 games with France at the IIHF World Hockey Championships, and about 5 teams were believed to be pursuing him.

He had 21 points in 48 games in the SM-Liiga, going a great +21 on an average team.  Auvitu managed to capture the Pekka Rautakallio Trophy as Finnish Elite’s Top Defenseman in 2015-16.

According to TSN, the Los Angeles Kings have informed winger Dustin Brown he has been stripped of his captaincy. Brown used to be one of the best forwards on the Kings roster, but has fallen off in the recent years.

His new contract kicked in at the beginning of 2014-15, which pays him $5.875 million dollars against the cap long-term.  It seems it may be more than Dustin Brown’s captaincy at risk moving forward. With the Kings early round exit this year, things are becoming urgent in LA.

June 1st Deadline to Sign 2014 Draft Picks

Teams have until 5:00PM (PST) on June 1st to sign their 2014 Draft Picks.

A couple of bigger names look to be off the board as Vaclav Karabacek signed his entry-level deal with the Buffalo Sabres, while Dylan Sadowy was traded to Detroit, and is expected to sign his entry-level deal.

The lone high quality prospect that seems destined to re-enter the draft is Conner Bleackley.  Originally drafted by Colorado, Bleackley was dealt at the deadline for Mikkel Boedker (among other pieces).

Next: NHL Mock Draft 5.5: 7 Rounds of Prospect Analysis

With the trade, the Avs also gave up their potential 2nd round pick for not signing the former 1st rounder.  Should Conner Bleackley re-enter the draft, Arizona will be awarded the 54th overall pick.

Stay Tuned for Next Week’s NHL Weekly Roundup!