Latest news with #DonSweeney
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Mikey Eyssimont is a pain to play against, a healthy sign for the Bruins
'My whole day, year-round, it's all hockey and nothing's ever changed,' Eyssimont told the Globe. 'Sometimes I look at it like, 'I'm 28 and my neighbors still see me stick-handling in the driveway.' So, a lot of my friends have moved on and I'm still doing the same thing. And I just find that really special and just love the sport and what it's done for me. And I just look forward to playing for Boston.' Eyssimont (that's AY-see-mawnt) was Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Don Sweeney described Eyssimont as a 'pain to play against' and the 6-foot, 191-pounder considered the Bruins general manager's scouting report a badge of honor. Advertisement 'I take it as a compliment. I've had an edge, and I have had a chip on my shoulder for a long time, and I think I've had it since I was little, a very competitive kid,' said Eyssimont. 'And now that I'm older, I've matured even through the pro ranks to be able to concentrate toward ways to help the team. And sometimes that's just getting under an opposing team's skin. And I guess I did a good enough job for Don Sweeney to notice and ultimately, I'm here, so I got to keep doing that.' Related : Advertisement A native of Littleton, Colo., Eyssimont's journey has taken him to myriad and varied hockey outposts, from the USHL (Fargo and Sioux Falls) to Division 1 college (St. Cloud State) to the AHL (Ontario and Manitoba) and finally to the NHL (Winnipeg, San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Seattle). Through it all, Eyssimont has battled his way through adversity to reach his ultimate goal of being a consistent performer in the NHL. Those battles included being diagnosed with Crohn's disease as he headed into his junior year at St. Cloud State. The diagnosis came after he dealt with symptoms for eight months that Eyssimont believed would clear on its own if he changed a habit or two. 'I was like, 'OK, I'm not going to drink any beer this weekend with my friends. I'm going to eat really healthy,' ' Eyssimont recalled. Eyssimont, then 21, was losing weight and his energy level — something he relied on to make maximum impact on the ice — was dipping daily. 'Something is going on and you're trying to figure out yourself and you're scared,' said Eyssimont, who did some internet research to find answers but that just led to more questions. 'And finally, it got to become too much where I just skated off the ice during a summer skate in St. Cloud and just went to my trainer and said, 'Look, I need you to come with me to the hospital. This has been going on longer than you probably want to know right now, but we just need to figure this out. It was really scary, and Google doesn't help.' Advertisement According to the Mayo Clinic, Chron's 'is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes swelling and irritation of the tissues, called inflammation, in the digestive tract. This can lead to belly pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition.' After a hospital stay, Eyssimont learned to manage his condition with treatment that included a special diet. Taking the first step of seeking help was big for Eyssimont, who said he regrets waiting — and suffering — for so long. It's a message he likes to drive home to others. 'Once I got to the doctor's office and sat down, I immediately felt better,' said Eyssimont. 'So, it's one of the things I always try to express to kids dealing with it and young athletes in general is that doctors are here to help and they have your back and if you think something's wrong, you need to use them and lean on them and trust them. But that's the main thing that I struggled with and that I try to get across is you can't just be stubborn, like 'I'm a hockey player, I can get through it.' No. You need to reach out and you need to use professionals.' A healthy Eyssimont collected 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games for St. Cloud before he signed an entry level deal with the Kings, who had drafted him in 2016. Eyssimont, who considers ex-Bruin and fellow Coloradan Brandon Carlo among his best friends, spent five-plus seasons in the AHL before breaking through with Winnipeg during the 2022-23 season. 'I think I spent longer than I deserved in the AHL. [Coach] Mark Morrison , my first year in Manitoba, in the Winnipeg organization, really believed in me,' said Eyssimont. 'And you're going into your third and a half year, fourth year playing in the AHL and he's telling you you're not an AHL player, you're an NHL player. Someone will see it. And Winnipeg did and I never looked back once I got my chance.' Advertisement Eyssimont was quick to credit Ontario Reign coach Mike Stothers with helping him develop into a more complete player. He was promoted by the Jets in Nov. 2022 (to replace an injured Blake Wheeler ) and was claimed by the Sharks on waivers when the Jets tried to send him back to Manitoba. The Sharks subsequently traded Eyssimont to the Lightning at the 2023 deadline and it was in Tampa where he gained his NHL foothold. 'Tampa was a place that once I landed that I felt, 'OK, I'm an NHL player now.' And I felt solidified and felt like I was starting to establish myself. And so that gave me a couple years, 2½ where I could just play and just learn what the NHL is and play 82 games and obviously play with one of the best players in the world [ Nikita Kucherov ] and a couple of the top 50 players in the world.' The structure of the Lightning organization was a perfect fit. 'There's no gray area, it's all black and white, whether it's systems or rules off the ice and stuff like that,' he said. 'And I think Boston's the same way, and I think I thrive under that type of culture and discipline. So, I think playing for Tampa, an organization like that really just allowed me to really play for anyone and Boston's the same way.' Advertisement Eyssimont finished the 2024-25 season in Seattle after again being flipped at the deadline before he went to the World Championship for the third straight season, this time helping the United States to a gold medal. 'It was unbelievable,' he said. 'Playing for the gold medal and winning the thing — first time the USA had done it since [1993]. It was pretty cool. It was definitely something I'll never forget — we were definitely a really close group.' It was at Worlds where Eyssimont bonded with future Bruin teammates Jeremy Swayman , Andrew Peeke , and Mason Lohrei . 'Yeah, I went to countless dinners with Mase and Sway, and I just saw Peeker at a wedding last weekend,' he said. 'These are definitely guys that I became good friends with, really good friends, and they were all really excited to see me sign there and they reached out and are helping me migrate over there and then acclimate to the new city and new organization. So, I'm thankful to have made those connections.' Eyssimont is not the only athlete in the family. His twin sister, Ana , is a former gymnast who is now a professional skier. 'Yeah, we're really close. Ana is on her own journey. She's a professional skier, amateur surfer. I kind of live vicariously — I can't really be outdoorsy or do those things — so I get to live vicariously through her,' said Eyssimont, who goes by Mikey because that's what his mother calls him. 'She's doing some amazing stuff in her own right and her own universe. She travels a lot and sees the world and we don't see each other as much as I'd like, but we're in touch and like I said, on our journey, so it's pretty special. I get to see her when we play somewhere where there's some good skiing like Vancouver or Seattle or Denver, Utah. So yeah, I'm thankful to have her and we push each other and yeah, it's really special.' Advertisement Eyssimont's NHL career has landed him in Winnipeg, San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Seattle so far. DARRYL DYCK/Associated Press Google it Zellers surprised, then pleased Trade deadline day naturally comes with angst for NHLers dealing with rumors and reports during the run up. It's not normally that way in the USHL, where players are generally locked in on improving, not moving. So, imagine Will Zellers's surprise when a Green Bay Gamblers teammate told him to plug his name in the old Google machine. 'Yeah, I mean I wasn't really expecting it. I was getting ready for a game, so it wasn't really on my radar at that time,' said Zellers. '... Kind of went on with my pregame routine and then my teammate, Geno Carcone said, 'You see Twitter?' I was like, 'No.' And he said, 'Look at your name.' So, my roommate looked it up and there it was, 'Zellers traded to Boston.' I was like, 'Wow, really?' ' Related : Zellers was part of the package the Bruins received from Colorado in exchange for Charlie Coyle . Boston also received Casey Mittelstadt and a second-round pick it used to take Liam Pettersson . Shortly after digesting the news, Zellers said he received reassuring calls from Don Sweeney and from the Avalanche organization, which drafted him 76th overall in 2024. 'They wanted to make sure I didn't question myself, didn't question my worth about being traded. They told me I'm still young and a good player,' said Zellers, 19. 'And Colorado, I mean, I understand with them it's a business. They tried to go on a [playoff] run. So, I'll forever be grateful for everything that they made come true.' What made it even more surprising was that Zellers, who will play at the University of North Dakota this fall, was enjoying a stellar season that ended with him copping USHL Player of the Year honors after leading the league with 44 goals. 'Yeah, it was a special year. I couldn't have done it alone. I had great teammates all around me, feeding me the puck, finding me in slots, but it was a special year,' Zellers said at the conclusion of Bruins Development Camp this month. 'Anytime you get to score that many goals, no matter what level you're at, I mean it's a good feeling. Now, you put your best foot forward going into college.' He acknowledged it was a surreal moment to walk into Warrior Ice Arena and see his nameplate in the locker room. 'You dream about playing here, dressing in here,' he said. 'It's pretty special. You get to be in here and kind of see what it's like here, see what all the facilities are like, but it's a dream come true to be at an NHL camp at this point in my career. So, I mean I'm just honored to be in here.' Zellers was among the more noticeable players at camp, using his fast feet and sharp vision to find lanes and show off his quick release. At 5-11 and 170 pounds, Zellers will work on bulking up as he prepares for college and life as a professional. 'The feedback's been great,' Zellers said of his interactions with the Bruins staff. 'I think they've been happy with how everything's going with me. But of course, just trying to find holes in my game. I mean, anytime I can turn those holes in my game into strengths, it just helps me out overall and helps me get to this level quicker.' Zellers was among the more noticeable players at development camp, using his fast feet and sharp vision to find lanes and show off his quick release. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Secondary chance Kuznetsov a solution for Bruins? The Bruins addressed a top need through free agency — grit — with the signings of Tanner Jeannot and Eyssimont. However, another top priority —secondary scoring — still needs to be a focus. Boston needs to squeeze some scoring from sources outside a projected top line of Morgan Geekie , Elias Lindholm , and David Pastrnak . One affordable solution could be Evgeny Kuznetsov , who scored 173 goals and 575 points in 743 NHL games. Related : Kuznetsov last played in the NHL late in 2024 with the Hurricanes after returning from a stint in the NHL's Player Assistance Program. Kuznetsov, 33, was suspended by the NHL for three games in 2019 for 'inappropriate conduct,' shortly after he was hit with a four-year ban in Russia following a positive test for cocaine. The crafty center signed a four-year deal with St. Petersburg SKA of the Kontinental Hockey League, but that contract was mutually terminated after he collected 37 points in 39 games during an injury-filled 2024-25 season. Kuznetsov likely would come on a short-term, team-friendly 'prove it' deal and could serve as a bridge in Boston as some of the organization's younger players continue to season. He could also help boost Boston's power play. Kuznetsov had 48 goals and 172 career points on the man advantage. And yes, a lot of that power-play time came with Alexander Ovechkin manning the dot. Loose pucks Quiz time: Who holds the Bruins rookie record for points in a season? (Bonus points for knowing the winner of the Calder Trophy that year). Answers below ... Bobby Orr revealed in a recent issue of Forbes that he's traded in his Cape Cod summers for a spot in Bruce Cassidy , Rick Tocchet , Pete DeBoer , and Misha Donskov were named assistant coaches for Team Canada for the 2026 Olympics. Jon Cooper will serve as head coach ... Rangers coach Mike Sullivan will coach Team USA ... If you need some cooling thoughts, Boston Bruins Heritage Hall is a great take. Everything you always wanted to know about your favorite franchise is right there on the Level 2 of TD Garden ... Quiz answer: Joe Juneau , who collected 32 goals and 102 points in 1992-93. Juneau, whose yodeling skills are still unknown, finished second in the Calder voting to Teemu Selanne , who potted 76 goals and 132 points. Jim McBride can be reached at
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Bruins 2028-29 roster projection: How does the rebuild turn out?
The Boston Bruins have taken a big step forward in reordering their future. Fraser Minten and Will Zellers were among the returns in their selloff at the 2025 trade deadline. James Hagens was the prize for finishing with the NHL's fifth-worst record in 2024-25. So what could this look like in three years? Advertisement David Pastrnak will be 32 in 2028-29. Charlie McAvoy will be 31. The two cornerstones should be well within their windows of being franchise chain-pullers. But will the quantity and quality of Pastrnak's and McAvoy's next-generation reinforcements be robust enough for the Bruins to be Stanley Cup contenders? General manager Don Sweeney has made it a habit to spend liberally in free agency. There's no reason to believe that pattern will break. For this exercise, we'll peek ahead to 2028-29 using only current Bruins and internal prospects. It should provide a sketch to determine how aggressively management will need to supplement their existing veterans and inbound youngsters with trades and signings: Morgan Geekie will be halfway through his six-year, $33 million contract. Geekie, who will be 29 years old, could still be paired with Pastrnak. As for their prospective center, Hagens will be 21 at the start of the 2028-29 season. By then, the 2006-born center could have two-plus years of professional experience. The question is how good Hagens will be. Hagens' upcoming sophomore season at Boston College should give the Bruins better insight into what he will become. He was good enough to produce at a point-per-game basis as a freshman while centering Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard in 2024-25. The Eagles will ask Hagens to assume more offensive responsibility in 2025-26. It won't be easy without Perreault and Leonard as go-to wings. 'In some ways, it's going to benefit him,' player development coordinator Adam McQuaid said of Hagens' expected workload without his flammable linemates. 'Just continue to ramp up the compete level and consistent impact he's capable of having. That's a big thing for a lot of young players — just bringing the consistency night in and night out. It's not always going to be perfect. But just bringing the effort and wanting to be a driver and difference-maker.' Advertisement Unless Hagens turns into a top-tier smash, it's unrealistic to project him as a legitimate No. 1 NHL center at his age. But if Pastrnak and Geekie can carry the day, Hagens can continue his on-site development without the expectations of driving the line. The second line is full of wildcards. Will Zellers, the USHL's leading goal scorer in 2024-25, has yet to play a shift of NCAA hockey. He has work ahead of him to ramp up his pace and build the rest of his game. While he has top-six potential, Zellers will need time to develop. He will be a freshman at North Dakota this fall. 'I think he can get stronger, certainly, in order to play an offensive game at the NHL level,' amateur and college scout Parker MacKay said. 'That's going to come, though.' Will Moore is in the same category. He has second-line skill. But the incoming freshman at BC will need at least two seasons of college hockey to put on the weight required for NHL battle. Dean Letourneau has one year of NCAA experience. But it was a trying one. The 2024 first-rounder did not score a single goal. It's possible he may have to transition to an in-the-corners right wing who uses reach, physicality and puck protection to earn a pro living. 'He got much better with his stick,' McQuaid said of Letourneau once BC coach Greg Brown used him on the penalty kill. 'Just little details. He took all that in stride. But yet was like, 'I still want to do more. I believe I can do more.' Those are all positive things.' It's much easier to project the third line's performance because of their NHL experience. Elias Lindholm will be 33. He should be well into a phase of bottom-six, defense-first, penalty-killing shifts. Marat Khusnutdinov could develop more offensive presence by then. But he's on pace to be a third-line fixture. It's not as easy to determine what Matt Poitras will become. He is a natural center, but whether he has the all-around game to work the middle in the NHL permanently is unknown. Shifting to right wing could ease him of responsibility. Advertisement On the fourth line, Tanner Jeannot will be entering the fourth season of his five-year, $17 million contract. Minten, who will be 24, is trending toward becoming a trustworthy checking center. Chris Pelosi, the team's third-round pick in 2023, has the speed and puck-hungry approach to make it as a fourth-liner. Players not in the 2028-29 lineup (projecting to be traded or not extended) include Viktor Arvidsson, Johnny Beecher, Mikey Eyssimont, Fabian Lysell, Mark Kastelic, Sean Kuraly, Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha. The Bruins know what McAvoy is. It's not so with Mason Lohrei. The left-shot defenseman has the skill set to be the Bruins' version of Evan Bouchard: an offensive catalyst in charge of the power play. By 2028-29, Lohrei will be 27, perhaps more polished and more dependable defensively. Hampus Lindholm will be 34. He may not have the jump needed to push the offensive pace like he's currently capable of doing. It's possible Lindholm will have shifted more toward a matchup defenseman. Frederic Brunet, meanwhile, will be 25 and reinforced with three more years of pro shifts. He is a smooth skater who likes to go up the ice. On the No. 3 pair, the Bruins hope that Liam Pettersson, one of their two 2025 second-round picks, will have added the weight required for 200-foot shifts. The 6-foot-2 Pettersson was most recently listed at 170 pounds. Nikita Zadorov will be 33, still aligned with his defense-first window. Traded or not extended: Michael Callahan, Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Andrew Peeke Jeremy Swayman will start 2028-29 as a 29-year-old. Assuming 2024-25 was an exception, Swayman could still be peaking as a full-fledged ace. The Bruins do not currently have a high-end goaltending prospect, but they might not need one if Swayman is in elite form. Philip Svedeback, the organization's fourth-round pick in 2021, will be 26. Advertisement Traded or not extended: Michael DiPietro, Joonas Korpisalo, Simon Zajicek A much-needed infusion of youth is helping. More is coming: two first-round picks in 2026 and two more in 2027. But it's still not enough to offset the four first-rounders the Bruins traded between 2018 and 2023. Hockey operations will have to be aggressive on the trade market and in free agency to add NHL players, especially up front. The Bruins need game-breakers.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NHL offseason concern-o-meter: Erik Karlsson trade market, Connor McDavid contract, more
After weeks and months of teasing an exciting summer, the NHL offseason fizzled out quickly. Trade buzz rarely came to fruition, free agency underwhelmed and there are few legitimate offer-sheet candidates left. With little NHL news and excitement coming out, the dog days of summer can become the prime time to debate, dissect and overreact. So why not add to the discourse? Let's dust off the concern-o-meter™️to analyze a few red flags that have emerged this summer. Concern-o-meter: 5/10 It's never easy to take a step back and start looking toward the future, so the Bruins deserve credit for making that decision at the trade deadline. Trading for draft picks and prospects such as Fraser Minten will help this team replenish its prospect pipeline. Bets on reclamation projects such as Casey Mittelstadt at the deadline, along with Viktor Arvidsson this summer, could pay off, too. Advertisement As promising as that all is, the real question is whether Don Sweeney has the vision to retool the Bruins into a contender around David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. His track record of drafting and developing players is suspect at best, and this summer's direction emphasizing hard-nosed players and size only adds to that concern. The Tanner Jeannot contract may not be that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, since it only carries a $3.4 million cap hit. However, it represents Sweeney's willingness to commit to a five-year deal with a player who brings size, but not nearly enough skill. It's too early to sound the alarms in Boston, but there are some concerning trends worth keeping an eye on. Concern-o-meter: 6/10 The Blackhawks may have gone into the offseason with a ton of cap space, but the reality is that the team isn't in the position to land a big-name free agent just yet. As tempting as it could have been to offer Mitch Marner $14 million AAV, his timeline doesn't line up with Chicago's. There is a difference between accelerating the process and rushing it, and that would have fallen into the latter category. Taking the slow and patient approach isn't perfect, either. Sometimes teams don't build the right support system to ease their young guns into a lineup. It can put too much pressure on franchise cornerstones to jump into meaningful roles, which can derail their development. While the Blackhawks already have some veterans on the roster, including Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno and Connor Murphy, management has to be sure those players can provide enough support to their rising core. That starts at the top with Connor Bedard — who still looks to be on the Jack Eichel and Clayton Keller path, but could always slip to the tier below if Chicago doesn't play this right — and trickles down to the likes of Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic and Sam Rinzel. Rebuilding can be a painful process, so taking this quiet of an offseason approach is somewhat risky. Advertisement Concern-o-meter: 6.5/10 There is time over the next year and a half for a Karlsson trade, so the Penguins don't have to rush anything this offseason. But how will starting the year in Pittsburgh affect his value? A few factors could influence that, including the aging process. Karlsson may have defied typical aging curves, but Father Time eventually comes for everyone — and that can be further exposed depending on his usage and the support around him. So moving Karlsson this summer could be the best path, if there is an available buyer. It's just that the options have dwindled over the last couple of weeks. The Hurricanes may not have signed a clear Brent Burns replacement, but management may not want to take another massive swing on defense after acquiring (and signing) K'Andre Miller. The Panthers are out after extending Aaron Ekblad. The Senators should probably see what Jordan Spence has to offer before committing to Karlsson's contract. Vegas appears to be a better landing spot for Rasmus Andersson. Concern-o-meter: 7/10 The league is right in one thing: the game can sell itself. At its core, hockey is an exciting sport that can attract even the most casual fans. The problem is that the NHL doesn't do enough to get eyeballs on the game, and the 2025-26 schedule is the prime example of that. The NHL is shifting more toward games starting at 7:00 p.m. local time, instead of on the half hour. That makes sense during the week, to ensure an early enough ending for fans on work/school nights. But when games are unevenly distributed throughout the week, with clusters on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it leads to a lot of overlap. It leans into the assumption that fans only want to watch their own team and aren't interested in a league-wide view. The data probably backs that up, but it's flawed because of the usual schedule structure. Fans can't bounce around to watch other games on busier nights. And lighter nights don't always have eye-catching marquee matchups. So if the idea is to have a standardized local starting time, there should be more balance across the week so there aren't seven or eight games starting at once every Tuesday and Thursday. Advertisement The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament proved there can be a lot of interest in hockey. But the league failed to build on that down the stretch and into the playoffs. Add in a discombobulated, drawn-out decentralized draft, and the season's TV coverage ended on a sour note. With the 2025-26 season opening up with a matchup between the Panthers and Blackhawks, since Chicago's market size and Bedard's star power were prioritized over actual rivalries, the league looks on track to repeat the same mistakes that keep it behind other major professional leagues. Concern-o-meter: 7.5/10 When the Kings' playoff window started to close a few years ago, management changed its approach. Los Angeles blended an aging core, led by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, with some up-and-coming talent. First, Adrian Kempe and Mikey Anderson emerged as key players. Then the next wave came, with Alex Laferriere and Quinton Byfield breaking out. And now Brandt Clarke, Alex Turcotte and Akil Thomas look poised to play more meaningful roles. But around that infusion of youth, the Kings opted to get older and slower this summer. That is especially glaring on defense, with Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin replacing Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov. Despite no changes in dollars and cents, this defensive swap cost the team 18 goals in Dom Luszczyszyn's model, which landed the Kings dead last in our offseason improvement round-up. Ken Holland's dealings were already questionable in his later years in Detroit. There were quite a few lows in Edmonton that outweighed some of the highs. So the Kings shouldn't exactly be surprised that this is the direction he's taking for his newest team. Maybe L.A.'s system will be strong enough to maximize Ceci and Dumoulin's defensive games, but maintaining that structure with weaker players operating within it could be a challenge. Concern-o-meter: 8/10 Two things held the Maple Leafs back this past season: their stars didn't shine bright enough in the playoffs and there wasn't enough bottom-six support. Matias Maccelli adds a middle-six playmaking presence to the Maple Leafs at a low cost. Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua add positional flexibility to the bottom six. If the Maple Leafs can channel the best from these three, after each experienced a tough 2024-25 campaign, that should solve one problem. But there is still a Mitch Marner-sized hole in the top six. As flawed as his Maple Leafs tenure was, and though his regular-season caliber didn't translate to a postseason environment consistently enough, he was still capable of putting up 100 points in the regular season. And there were some glimpses of that star potential in the playoffs. Advertisement That's something management has not replaced at this point in the offseason. The bottom-six support helps. So will another year of progress from Matthew Knies, John Tavares at a much more reasonable price, plus Auston Matthews and William Nylander. But for a team facing the pressure to finally go on a deep run, the offseason feels incomplete with that glaring hole in the top six. Concern-o-meter: 8.5/10 In a vacuum, it isn't that concerning that McDavid hasn't signed his next contract just yet. Sure, he signed his last contract on July 5, four days after being eligible to extend for the 2018-19 season. But none of the stars heading the 2026 class of free agents have extended, either — Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor all have yet to ink new contracts. Leon Draisaitl waited a couple of months after his eligibility opened up last summer, too. That situation wasn't without its own pressure points. Draisaitl, like McDavid, said he needed time to figure out what both he and the team wanted. But an extension was signed in September 2024. As much as teams may want to have certainty on their franchise cornerstones sooner rather than later, players should take the time to contemplate their next steps. While a short-term contract should be on the table more often for elite players, the assumption should be that this will be McDavid's career-defining contract. It will likely be his richest deal financially and tie him to a team for the rest of his prime. While trades are always a possibility down the line, players don't sign seven or eight-year contracts thinking about that. So it makes perfect sense for McDavid to take the time after another painfully disappointing finish to consider what is best for him moving forward. But there is something about his parting comments that hits differently. 'If I feel that there's a good window to win here over and over again, then signing is no problem,' McDavid said, as reported by The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Already, the team has Draisaitl extended for another eight years, four more years of Evan Bouchard, plus another season of Jake Walman to work around. It's a solid foundation for McDavid to be a part of in Edmonton, but it's far from the full picture. Advertisement The goaltending situation remains unresolved and volatile. While the team managed to clear out cap with the Evander Kane and Arvidsson trades, Edmonton also lost Connor Brown to free agency. Andrew Mangiapane appears to be a solid middle-six fit. Ike Howard and Matt Savoie also have long-term potential and should help balance the books with their entry-level contracts. But those changes may not be enough to replace what was lost and push this team further along. If not, does Stan Bowman have the vision and creativity to change that? Asking any general manager to build a contender in a cap world is a challenge. Navigating around core contracts such as those for Draisaitl, Bouchard and Darnell Nurse adds another element of difficulty. But Bowman's track record and decision-making don't inspire much confidence. The Trent Frederic extension shows some of the shortcomings in his cap management. The offseason is far from over, so while the alarm is not sounding for McDavid's contract situation just yet, the Oilers' future under Bowman is a growing concern. — Data via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, Hockey Stat Cards, All Three Zones, Dom Luszczyszyn, The Stanley Cap and Natural Stat Trick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers. (Top photos of Erik Karlsson and Connor McDavid: Patrick Smith and Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Don Sweeney Deserves Massive Props For Great Bruins Trade
With the Boston Bruins performing far below expectations this past season, general manager Don Sweeney blew up the team's roster at the trade deadline. Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic, and Charlie Coyle were among the players that Sweeney traded to spark a new era in Bruins hockey.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Don Sweeney Deserves Massive Props For Great Bruins Trade
With the Boston Bruins performing far below expectations this past season, general manager Don Sweeney blew up the team's roster at the trade deadline. Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic, and Charlie Coyle were among the players that Sweeney traded to spark a new era in Bruins hockey.
