The Montreal Canadiens have caused a stir among their fans by choosing Austrian outfielder David Reinbacher as the fifth overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft. If social media is anything to go by, most favor Russian winger Matvey Michkov, the muscular — and much hyped — picked seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The difference with the team’s first-round selection is fair play. No fan worth their salt should blindly accept every decision their favorite team makes at the draft table.
Initial criticism revolved around the Canadiens’ selection of a defenseman in a draft full of promising young scorers. Many have correctly pointed out that Habs hasn’t had a major scoring star since Guy Lafleur in the 70’s or a 50-goal superstar since Stefan Richer in 1990. “We’re starving for a scorer!” was necessary.
There is nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, some issues among the Canadian faithful decided to take their anger out on the 18-year-old Reinbacher via Twitter and Instagram with some vile comments. The kind of talk pathetic idiots spew from behind the safety of anonymity and distance on social media because they lack the courage to say it to one’s face.
Some Twitter trolls masquerading as “insiders” tweeted that Reinbacher had received “thousands” of direct threats (nowhere near), and that he didn’t want to fit in with the Canadiens (which he did just two days into the draft before their potential development). camp) and was so upset that he didn’t want to sign a contract with Habs (which he did after the development camp).
It’s a reminder that, contrary to popular belief, Twitter is not the real world. Many Canadiens fans favored Michkov but most look so good to the player that he was named the best defender in the 2023 draft.
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Late in the 2012-13 season, goalkeeper Roberto Luongo I bemoaned It was his expensive contract that hurt his chances of being traded to the Vancouver Canucks before the 2013 trade deadline.
I wonder if Erik Carlson feels the same way a decade later. The 33-year-old Norris Award-winning defenseman would prefer a trade to the opposition and the San Jose Sharks are trying to juggle him. However, no deal has emerged yet, mostly due to Karlsson’s $11.5 million AAV value through 2026-27 and his full no-movement clause.
There is reportedly a legitimate interest in Carlson by several playoff contenders but they cannot afford his full contract. These clubs would prefer if the Sharks kept half their annual quota, but they are said to only be willing to pick up between 20 and 30 percent.
Thanks to a flat 2023-24 salary cap, there aren’t many teams that can comfortably afford the entirety of Carlson’s remaining cap, let alone pay what is expected to be an expensive asking price by the Sharks.
Unless San Jose General Manager Mike Grier is willing to hold onto more of Carlson’s cap hits, or somehow swings a three-team deal where everyone takes a third of it, Carlson will fit in next season with Los Tiburones.
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Twenty-two players submitted last week to get Salary arbitration. Among the notables were Anaheim Ducks winger Troy Terry, Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swaiman, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov, and Winnipeg Jets forward Gabe Vilardi.
The hearings period is between July 20 and August 4. However, don’t be surprised if they all end up re-signing with their clubs before the soon-to-be-set dates with the referee.
It’s a rare occurrence when players and teams end up taking their case before an arbitrator. In the past, in most cases the parties would reach an agreement within the 48 hours prior to the judgment’s decision. This option, however, removed In the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NHL and the NHL Players Association to extend the collective bargaining agreement through 2026.
Most players apply as a way of setting a deadline for reaching agreements on new contracts rather than having them stick around for the duration of the offseason or training camp. This is also usually the motivation for teams that take players to refereeing.
That number was already down by two with the re-signing of Seattle Kraken defensemen Will Burgen and Kel Flory. It is likely that others will follow suit in due course.