With the frenzy of opening week now gone, it was quieter around the league over the past week but there were still several notable stories.
1) Athanasiou Situation Nearing A Resolution? Darren Ferris, the agent for Red Wings RFA winger Andreas Athanasiou, said that he expects a resolution to his situation next week. He has multiple offers from Switzerland on the table as well as a one-year, $2.5MM KHL offer and signing one of those would keep his Olympic eligibility. It was also reported that Los Angeles, Montreal, and Ottawa are the teams that have shown the most interest in trading for Athanasiou although Detroit isn’t believed to be actively shopping him around the league either.
2) Injury Woes In Minnesota: Already missing key forwards Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund, things went from bad to a whole lot worse in the span of one day for the Wild. No fewer than three more forwards went down as Charlie Coyle suffered a right fibula fracture that will have him out for close to two months, Nino Niederreiter will miss at least three weeks with a high ankle sprain, while Marcus Foligno has a facial fracture that will cost him at least a week. Interestingly enough, the long-term nature of Coyle’s injury actually provided them with the opportunity to afford to be able to recall replacement players up while remaining in compliance with the salary cap.
3) Gionta To Skate With Rochester: Veteran unrestricted free agent winger Brian Gionta wasn’t able to land an NHL contract over the offseason so he has turned his focus to the Olympics. In order to try to be in game shape, he has reached an agreement with Buffalo’s farm team in Rochester to skate with them for “extended period of time”. Assuming he can land a spot on the US Olympic squad, it would be his first appearance in those games since 2006.
4) Rockets Owner Interested In NHL Team: Houston has long been speculated as a potential home for an NHL team and talk of that picked up last week when their new owner, Tilman Fertitta, indicated that he would like to have an NHL franchise in that market as well. There is some history of hockey in the market with the Aeros of the WHA as well as the Aeros of the AHL, who moved to Iowa back in 2013. With the league currently unbalanced with 31 teams, some have speculated that Houston could become a strong candidate for an expansion franchise in the near future.
5) Sustr On The Market: The Lightning are carrying eight blueliners (like many other teams to start the year) and with youngsters like Mikhail Sergachev, Slater Koekkoek, and Jake Dotchin all needing a look, Andrej Sustr has been a scratch three times already this season. Not surprisingly, word came out that Tampa Bay is believed to be shopping the 26-year-old, who carries a $1.95MM cap hit this season and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in July. While he’s not a top-four option, the veteran of over 300 NHL games (regular season and playoffs) could potentially serve as a third pairing upgrade on several teams around the league.
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