NHL Rumors: Giordano trade candidate; Ducks waiting to hire new GM; Torts said what about McDavid?
Anthony Scultore
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Let’s get this out in the open at the risk of being called Captain Obvious – the Seattle Kraken are not the Vegas Golden Knights.
The expansion Kraken look every bit a newly formed franchise as any other to have entered the NHL. The Golden Knights were the exception, not the rule.
Oddly enough, a look at how the team was put together by Ron Francis with a focus on defense, people naturally questioned if they could score. Seattle’s 2.86 goals per game ranks them 18th in the NHL. However, their 3.64 goals allowed per game has them 31 out 32 teams.
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NHL Rumors: Mark Giordano could be place on the block soon
As we near U.S. Thanksgiving, which is widely considered every NHL’s team’s first pulse check, trades could be in the works. Jeff Gorton was on the @TheRink podcast and explained that’s roughly where most GM’s feel they have enough information and start to address their needs.
For the Seattle Kraken, who are sitting dead last in the Pacific Division at 4-9-1 (9 pts) trading their captain and pending UFA Mark Giordano could be coming sooner rather than later.
“I think that’s a decision we make a little bit down the road here,” Francis told Pierre LeBrun in October. “Right now we’re still trying to figure out what we have, and who works well with who, try to mesh it all together. Certainly, Mark is a terrific pro, been in the game a while, and a great leader for us and the organization, representing us not only on the ice but in the community as well. We’ll see where things go moving forward with the franchise overall.’’
If the Kraken wait to trade Giordano at the NHL Trade Deadline they could increase their return with more teams being able to bid due to less cap issues. However, if another team struggling on defense is willing to pony up a decent return, why not pull the trigger and start working on the future now?
Ducks will wait to hire a new GM
The Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks have two things in common right now. Both teams have no GM in place and both are willing to wait until the offseason to hire one.
Jeff Solomon took over for Bob Murray after his resignation and said: “[The Ducks] would begin a methodical, extensive search for a permanent general manager to lead us forward.”
This is similar to how Kyle Davidson is handling things in Chicago. There are several excellent proven GM’s available in Jeff Gorton and Jeremy Rutherford, so why wait?
Rumblings are teams may want to see if Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas could be available if Toronto decides to make changes this summer.
Torts said what about McDavid?
Oh yeah, John Tortorella went there.
Torts opined on hockey’s top player Connor McDavid, and told him to stop complaining about the calls he isn’t getting. That then turned into him saying he needs to change his game a bit to succeed in the playoffs.
“I do think he has to change his game a bit. Not turn into a checker, obviously,” Torts said on ESPN’s The Point. “He’s talked about culture, he’s talked about standards, he’s talked about winning. You’re not going to fill the net during the playoffs and outscore teams. You have to play on the other side of the puck. You have to have that business-type attitude… Don’t talk about it, just play through it, but the other side of the puck is that important too come playoff time.”
Torts added that he didn’t think the Capitals would win the Cup, but Alex Ovechkin changed his game in order to do so.
