What team beat writers are saying this afternoon:
- Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register speaks highly of the almost former Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin. His invitation to the Team Canada orientation camp speaks volumes.
- It sounds like this will be Mark Recchi’s last season. Boston is a good place to end your career, but Recchi is in such great physical condition that it wouldn’t surprise me to see him return after next season.
- Adrian Dater is happy to see Tyler Arnason leave the Rockies. As I just Twittered, did the Rangers not scout an Avalanche game last season?
- The Wild has signed Shane Hnidy to a one-year deal. He’s a tough depth defenseman that is good in the room. Nothing wrong with that.
- The Devils apparently want to add a second-line center. As the article states, it may very well be through trade.
- Along with signing Tyler Arnason to a two-way deal, the Rangers inked two minor league scorers. These guys will play in Hartford unless lots of injuries hit.
- Even though he didn’t get an invite to the orientation camp, Jason Spezza can still make Team Canada. I was discussing this with someone earlier this morning. If Spezza dominates the NHL for the first 25 games next season, he could crack the team.
- The Penguins have re-signed Ruslan Fedotenko for one-year, $1.8 million. He meshes well with Evgeni Malkin and is a two-time Stanley Cup winner. Good deal for both sides.
- Jeremy Rutherford jumps the gun and projects the Blues’ lines for next season. I’ll say this now; the Blues are the next model organization in hockey. They will be Red Wings-like in the next couple years.
- Brian Lawton is the man in charge of hockey decisions in Tampa Bay. I don’t love the Ohlund deal like everyone else seems to, but this summer has been a lot better than last for Tampa Bay.
- Mikael Samuelsson has signed with Vancouver for 3 years at $7.5 million. Admission: I’m not the biggest Samuelsson fan. That said, he is a good skater, shoots well, and can quarterback the power play. I just hope Canucks fans don’t have heightened expectations of his capabilities because they are more limited than some may think.