Tierney and DeMelo’s role, Connor signs, Kane ejected

It’s here, friends. That’s right, the NHL season begins anew this Wednesday evening when the Ottawa Senators visit the Toronto Maple Leafs. You might even say I’m...excited?

Lots of good stuff to get to from this weekend:

• Wayne Scanlan had a good piece yesterday for Sportsnet, in it he was wrapping up some odds and ends from the pre-season. On the topic of where Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo fit into DJ Smith’s line-up, Scanlan had this to say:/

Players tend to find their level in the their lineup.

It’s almost certain that Tierney and DeMelo will soon again be considered vital parts of the Senators’ game-to-game components, but for now they will have to prove themselves, along with many others.

Smith knows and trusts the players he has had a history with.

For the time being, they have the inside track.

Smith’s not wrong to rely on people he trusts at the outset of his first season as an NHL head coach, but part of whether he’s able to carve out a long-term position as an NHL bench boss will depend on his ability to be flexible and work with players he doesn’t know.

• Our very own Cost Per Point podcast returns later today, but for those of you who can’t get enough Ottawa Senators content in your ears: Welcome to Your Karlsson Years posted a new episode last night. Luke and Varada are always worth a listen.
• Kyle Connor signed a seven year, $50M contract with the Winnipeg Jets on the weekend. After a summer of seemingly endless fretting about RFA holdouts, everyone is signed before the end of the pre-season. Was it much ado about nothing? There’s no doubt been a change to the way that premier restricted free agents utilize their leverage, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s really just one team that ended up overpaying its young stars.
• Evander Kane was ejected from last night’s pre-season game between the San Jose Sharks and the Las Vegas Golden Knights for “abuse of officials”. One the one hand, Kane’s ultimately responsible for his actions and though inadvertent he did slash an official. On the other hand, the linesman’s behaviour (especially the tackling) is baffling. Here’s the whole thing. It seems likely to provoke some controversy one way or another./

Evander Kane gets ejected in his last preseason game for "abuse of officials." pic.twitter.com/OAKcqPWf2I

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) September 30, 2019