It was an eventful week on the ice in the NHL including one of the longest games in league history and it was even more eventful away from the rink. We recap that news in our key stories.
Four Bidders For Senators: While there were seven strong expressions of interest in the Senators, in the end, only four of those groups issued a binding bid for the team. Canadiens minority owner Michael Andlauer heads up one of them, another is a bid from the Kimel brothers (Jeffrey and Michael) who also used to be a minority owner of the Penguins. The other two bids are from Steve Apostolopoulos, who was a contender in the bidding for the NFL’s Washington Commanders (he lost to Devils owner Josh Harris) and a coalition group led by producer Neko Sparks. The bids will now be reviewed by Galatioto Sports Partners which is handling the sale of the team with there likely to be some behind-the-scenes negotiating to try to drive the purchase price up more; Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) that those discussions are currently ongoing.
Holland To Stick Around: Soon after there was speculation that Edmonton might be proactive in terms of trying to keep teams from talking to Steve Staios, a special assistant to GM Ken Holland, Holland confirmed that he wouldn’t be stepping aside as GM of the Oilers next season. The 67-year-old has one more year remaining on his contract but indicated he’s not sure how much longer he’d like to stay in the top role, citing that he has some unfinished business. That business might be trying to get Edmonton to the Stanley Cup after the team fell in the second round to Vegas, one year after being swept in the Western Conference Final by Colorado. (Meanwhile, it appears their long-time rival will be announcing their new GM soon.)
Dubas Out: The Maple Leafs are shaking up their front office as it was announced that the team will not be renewing the contract of GM Kyle Dubas. The 37-year-old was in the top job for the last five seasons with the team enjoying plenty of regular season success but only one playoff series victory to show for it. Team president Brendan Shanahan admitted that there had been discussions about a contract extension for Dubas this past week but on Monday, Dubas acknowledged that he was unsure about staying on. While he confirmed to Shanahan on Thursday that he was ready to continue on with his agent submitting a counter-offer in discussions, Shanahan instead decided to move on. With Auston Matthews and William Nylander eligible for extensions in July, whoever takes over for Dubas will have two key files to work on quickly.
Back To The Drawing Board: It looked like the Coyotes had found their eventual new home in Tempe that was going to open up in a few years. However, the public referendum saw voters vote no to all three propositions, tanking that idea and sending the team back to the drawing board. They’ve since reached out to the City of Mesa to discuss the feasibility on building on the site of a mall that will soon be demolished. In the meantime, the team confirmed it will remain at Mullett Arena for the 2023-24 season but that won’t do much to quell relocation speculation, especially if they aren’t able to generate much momentum on this site in Mesa in the coming months.
Staying In School: The Coyotes will have to wait a little longer to get their top prospect under contract as Logan Cooley revealed that he will return to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore year. The 19-year-old was the third-overall pick last year and had a dominant freshman year, finishing second in NCAA scoring with 22 goals and 38 assists in 39 games. Without much left to prove at that level, the logical expectation was that he’d turn pro now but speaking with reporters including Randy Johnson of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, he indicated that he wanted to take another crack at a title while admitting that Arizona’s uncertain arena situation played into his decision. Having said that, Cooley could still turn pro late in the 2023-24 campaign and get into a handful of games with the Coyotes down the stretch.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.