Carey Price may be Canada's man between the pipes when the World Cup of Hockey kicks off next month.
The Montreal Canadiens netminder missed the majority of last season with a MCL sprain, but is now healthy and will join Team Canada in training camp.
"He’s been training. He’s 100 percent and he’s ready to go," Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "Now, he’ll have to shake off some of the rust because he hasn’t played in a game situation in a long time. But he will come into (training camp) and be ready to go for Game 1."
While there was initial doubt as to whether Price would be healthy enough to participate when the team was first named, Armstrong insists the plan all along was to have the 2014-15 Hart Trophy winner involved in some capacity.
"When we picked our initial roster he wasn’t playing, but we wanted him as part of the process," Armstrong said. "He is, by his stature the past couple of years and what he did in Sochi, maybe the best goalie on the planet, and we wanted to make sure he was comfortable with everything. We’ve stayed in touch with him over his rehab."
Price told reporters in June he feels 100 percent. Good news for Team Canada who will enter the tournament with the past two Vezina Trophy winners in Price and Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.
The Dallas Stars forward recently answered the call of young fan Tommy who penned a letter to his favourite player asking him to come play broomball at his birthday party.
Last season's biggest free-agency story apparently didn't hold much drama for Jon Cooper.
The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach says that despite endless questions and speculation regarding where Steven Stamkos would sign his next contract, Cooper never felt the star forward would leave.
"In my heart there wasn't one ounce of me that thought anybody was leaving," Cooper told NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "When we have this group, and as close as we are, I never leapt into the thought that we were losing some guys. Deep down inside, I never had a doubt."
While the 26-year-old didn't make his decision until close to the last minute - Stamkos agreed to an eight-year contract two days before he would have become an unrestricted free agent - Cooper thinks the former 60-goal scorer earned the right to gauge the market.
"I truly believe that players have earned their right to be unrestricted free agents," said Cooper. "Steven Stamkos earned his right to offer himself up and make himself available to all 30 teams.
"I just truly believe that in his heart he never wanted to leave. In saying that, he earned the right to be able to see what else was out there, but whether he signed last July 1 or this July 1, he still re-signed and we never went a day without Steven Stamkos."
And the Lightning may not go a day without him for quite a while. Stamkos' deal expires at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he'll be 34 years old.
On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, returns for a summer edition about Jimmy Vesey, who hit the free-agent market Tuesday at midnight ET. Our editors pull out their crystal balls and predict where the college standout will end up.
Chicago Blackhawks
Craig Hagerman: Just like they seemingly do every trade deadline, the Blackhawks will find a way to nab the biggest fish left on the market this offseason.
While the club is usually up against the salary cap ceiling, at present Chicago has roughly $2.4 million in available funds - more than enough to ink Vesey to an entry-level contract, barring bonuses.
The Blackhawks, as we all know, are stacked up front. But their one possible weakness appears to be on the left side, and wouldn't you know it, that's the side Vesey plays.
The two veterans would be great mentors for the up-and-coming prospect, and Vesey will be hard pressed to find more skilled linemates if he's to venture elsewhere.
With the Blackhawks, Vesey would join a team built to win, with a solid core, great coaching, and get the top-six role he seeks. The Blackhawks are the complete package.
New Jersey Devils
Cory Wilkins: Vesey's headed to beautiful Newark, New Jersey.
While the rebuilding Devils are not a Stanley Cup contender like other interested suitors in the Blackhawks or New York Rangers, New Jersey general mangaer Ray Shero can offer Vesey the biggest individual opportunity.
The Devils finished dead last in goals last season, scoring just 184 times, and there's an obvious need for more offense beyond the offseason addition of Taylor Hall. In New Jersey, Vesey can immediately slot into the Devils' top-six forwards, surrounded by the likes of Hall, Adam Henrique, and Kyle Palmieri.
Beyond that, according to his agent, Vesey prefers to fly under the radar, and that's not a viable option in his hometown of Boston or in the hockey bubble of Toronto. The New York-New Jersey area offers nine pro sports teams, and the Devils may have the smallest microscope among them. It could be the perfect situation for Vesey to kickstart his NHL career.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Navin Vaswani: Jimmy's heading north.
Vesey is the next part of the "Shanaplan," and he will join his brother Nolan and father Jim in the Toronto organization.
Family first.
While Toronto isn't the most logical destination for a player wanting to fly a bit under the radar, he'll be sheltered by general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock. And, let's face it, the spotlight in Toronto next season will firmly be on Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner. They're the three most recent top-10 draft picks - Matthews is the first No. 1 selection in club history since Wendel Clark in 1985 - and the undisputed future of the club.
Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri are going to be out to prove their long-term, big-money contract extensions were the right decision, and Frederik Andersen is starting life in Toronto, where goaltenders go to die. Let's be honest: If Vesey didn't want the attention, he'd have signed with the Nashville Predators or Buffalo Sabres, the two teams to previously own his NHL rights.
The Maple Leafs are a rebuilding team clearly on the rise, and Vesey can be offered a top-six role, much like in Chicago and New Jersey. At 23, he'll practically be a veteran on the team, especially after Brooks Laich, Milan Michalek, and Colin Greening - all playing on expiring contracts - are traded for draft picks. With Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, and James van Riemsdyk's contracts set to expire in July 2018, Vesey can be as much a part of the solution as Matthews, Nylander, or Marner.
Vesey played hockey at Harvard. He's about to graduate to the Maple Leafs. Makes sense.
The Stanley Cup champs have thrown their hat into the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will meet with the forward Tuesday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. Vesey became an unrestricted free agent at the stroke of midnight Tuesday.
The Penguins are the latest team to confirm their interest in the Hobey Baker Award winner after it was reported Monday that the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders will meet with the 23-year-old early in the week.
However, the Penguins are already roughly $2.3 million over the salary cap, according to General Fanager.
In an interview with Buffalo's WGR 550, Dan Bylsma confessed to using the young blue-liner too frequently last season, as he appeared to experience fatigue with the increased workload, particularly down the stretch.
"We put him into a lot of tough situations and I think some of the numbers that roll out on him as far as Corsi and possession do reflect that," Bylsma said, "But frankly we played him too much at times.
"He's not going to like to hear this, but he's not a guy that should be getting 28 to 30 minutes per night, although we did it to him and we put him in those situations."
The 21-year-old defenseman led all Sabres in ice time, averaging 25:16 - nearly three minutes more than Zach Bogosian (22:20), the second-highest Buffalo skater. It was a career high for the third-year defender, and an increase of nearly five minutes per game from the previous campaign.
Season
GP
G
A
Pts
+/-
TOI
2015-16
82
9
32
41
-21
25:16
2014-15
78
8
12
20
-32
20:36
2013-14
34
2
2
4
-15
19:07
Ristolainen's average ice time also ranked 10th-highest across the league.
Rank
Position
Skater
Age
TOI
1
D
Erik Karlsson
26
28:58
2
D
Ryan Suter
31
28:35
3
D
Drew Doughty
26
28:01
4
D
Kris Letang
29
26:56
5
D
P.K. Subban
27
26:21
6
D
Alex Pietrangelo
26
26:18
7
D
Brent Burns
31
25:51
8
D
Roman Josi
26
25:29
9
D
Shea Weber
31
25:22
10
D
Rasmus Ristolainen
21
25:16
The 21-year-old is at least five years younger than every blue-liner on the list.
Buffalo's acquisition of Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will allow him some more time off, and his coach is certain the drop in minutes will lead to increased output.
"(Ristolainen's) number should be in the 24 minute per game range," Bylsma said, "and that's where you'll see him be at this next year, and his numbers will improve too because of that."
The Rangers have long been documented as a suitor, and while many teams will be calling Vesey's camp, this is the first time the Islanders have been linked to the 23-year-old.
Vesey's a Hobey Baker Award winner, given to the nation's top collegiate hockey player, and can sign a two-year entry-level contract with the team of his choice.
