Thursday LNN: Free Agency Continues
Plus, the Kraken make history, and the first proper interview for Carter Yakemchuk
It's an absurdly busy time of year, with free agency having opened on Monday. Here's my best attempt at recapping all the important news stories from the last few days.
- On Monday, the NHL quietly announced that former Chicago Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac and Joel Quenneville will be eligible to seek employment in the NHL moving forward, after being banned over their handling of a sexual assault allegation in 2010. There’s no reason to do this after the way they prioritized winning over the health and safety of their players. Don’t forget that they gave the alleged perpetrator a reference, allowing him to assault another minor, after he left the Blackhawks.
- Yesterday, the Sens traded beloved Belleville forward Egor Sokolov to Utah in exchange for a prospect of a similar calibre in Jan Jenik. Not that surprising considering that Sokolov is on the older side for prospects and hasn’t made the NHL yet, but it still sucks to see a fan favourite go.
- You may have missed that Adam Gaudette is officially returning to Ottawa - or, well, to the Sens organization. Gaudette was the AHL’s third highest scorer last year, and is on a two-way deal, which suggests that this is probably a Belleville signing.
- The 2024-25 regular season schedule is out! You can now place your bets on how long the Sens will get into November before the collapse happens.
- In a historic move, the Seattle Kraken have named former Team Canada and Calgary Inferno player Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach. She’s the first woman to work on an NHL bench.
- The Hockey News looks at which Canadian team looks closest to winning the cup after free agency. They’re wrong, by the way. The Sens are winning the Cup.
- Training camp has already started, and 7th overall pick Carter Yakemchuk is there. Ian Mendes got the chance to sit down with him. Apparently he and Jake Sanderson have known each other since they were kids, though Sanderson is four years older than him. If you’re a subscriber to The Athletic, I’d highly recommend reading this!
- I’m not sure why the Sens and Red Wings are so intent on swapping players when neither team was good last year, but Detroit has signed Sens Legend Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year deal worth just under five million annually. Booooo.
