Deen's Daily
Deen’s Daily: Rosters Are Set; Regular Season Opens Today; Panthers Get Their Rings
The NHL season is (kind of) officially underway today. Obviously, the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils already played two games in Prague, but the rest of the league is finally getting started.
In the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken drop the puck at 2:30 p.m. MT. We’ll also see the Chicago Blackhawks on the road against Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center in their inaugural NHL season. Out east, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers play host to the Boston Bruins, who they eliminated in six games in the second round on their way to the finals. Five games will take place on Wednesday, which includes the Avalanche playing on the road in Vegas.
Every team submitted their final roster on Monday following a bevy of waiver wire pick-ups. And no, despite what I had predicted, the Avs were not among the teams to claim a player off waivers. The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Zach Aston-Reese, Vegas added both Cole Schwindt and Raphael Lavoie, Vancouver re-claimed Jiri Patera from Boston, and Anaheim picked up James Reimer.
Colorado Hockey Now
The Avs made several transactions over the past two days to maximize LTIR cap usage. Both the Tucker Poolman acquisition and the paper transactions where they “sent down” Ivan Ivan and Nikolai Kovalenko were part of the salary cap shenanigans that were taking place before rosters were due. I did my best to explain how LTIR works, and why the front office made those moves.
Head coach Jared Bednar provided an update on the status of Artturi Lehkonen following Monday’s practice. I wrote about that here.
Is Colorado’s front office running out of patience with guys on prove-it deals? I certainly think so. That and more in my first Monday notebook. Or maybe I’ll call it a journal. (Someone please help me come up with a more creative name for my Monday column).
Around The NHL
San Jose Hockey Now: An update on Macklin Celebrini, who suffered an injury in a preseason game last Tuesday. Will he be ready for opening night?
Detroit Hockey Now: Last season, the Red Wings carried three goalies all year: Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and Reimer. This season will start the same way. Reimer is no longer on the team, but Cam Talbot is. Which of the three will start on opening night?
Florida Hockey Now: One of my favorite ceremonies at the start of each season: The Florida Panthers got their Stanley Cup rings on Monday, and boy are they special.