NFT: NHL/PA agree to RTP Protocols for Edmonton and Toronto

Ian Cameron
@bobano
Daily NHL game schedule...

12:00PM ET - Toronto (Play-In Series Game)
2:00PM ET - Edmonton (Play-In Series Game)
4:00PM ET - Toronto (Round Robin Game)
6:00PM ET - Edmonton (Round Robin Game)
8:00PM ET - Toronto (Play-In Series Game)
10:00PM ET - Edmonton (Play-In Series Game)

just a great job by the NHL. The NBA has done ok too, but as a Nets fan half the team tested positive or has injury risks so it makes it seem pretty remarkable that the NHL may have something close to a normal playoff tournament. If Sorokin signs w/ isles next week that will be icing on the cake.

In comment 14931555 Giants in 07 said:

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Colin Stephenson @ColinSNewsday Rangers schedule v. CAR: (6) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (11) New York Rangers Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes vs. Rangers Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes vs. Rangers* Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers vs. Hurricanes*

Thanks! Couldn't find this.

Can't wait!
Link - ( New Window )

so they can be in phase 3 and 4, but not games? I thought phase 4 was games.

Arthur Staple
@StapeAthletic
· 3h
Agent for Ilya Sorokin (and MTL pick Alex Romanov) confirms that Sorokin can join #Isles
for Phases 3 and 4. Window to sign for 19-20 opens tomorrow at noon.

In comment 14932273 pjcas18 said:

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so they can be in phase 3 and 4, but not games? I thought phase 4 was games.

Yeah, that seems a bit weird. They can join their teams in the bubble for practice, but not for games.

They shouldn’t even be in this tournament and I’m guessing most of montreal would prefer their chances in the 12.5% lottery for number 1. But hope they can field a healthy squad in 3 weeks.

next season is delayed and most haven't played in several months already. Give them a chance to join their teams and get on the ice in an organized fashion not knowing when the next chance for that will be. I don't think they wanted those guys tempted to take deals from european leagues who are going to be back on the ice ahead of next year.

In comment 14931797 Percy said:

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In comment 14931555 Giants in 07 said: Quote: Colin Stephenson @ColinSNewsday Rangers schedule v. CAR: (6) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (11) New York Rangers Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes vs. Rangers Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes vs. Rangers* Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers vs. Hurricanes* Thanks! Couldn't find this.

Read an update this morning that Kreider should be healthy and ready to go.

Impossible to say what will happen after such a long layoff, but I'm fired up to see what the Rangers can do

Yeah yeah yeah, usual caveats about risks of virus, but really hope it all happens as planned

why Romanov or the Canadiens would do this.

Who knows when he will be on the ice in NA again (for games) and why burn an ELC year which it sounds like they will do.

love the potential confused by the timing.

and Sorokin signed too for phase 3 and 4 (like Romanov). I admit I don't get these moves.

Dan Milstein-Hockey
@HockeyAgent1
·
7m
Ilya Sorokin signs with the New York Islanders for the remainder of 2019-2020 season. #WeAreGoldStar!

he was making a lot more $ in Russia, so he likely wasn't going to forgo other options to make $950k in the NHL for any period of time. Even pre-C19 that was why he'd waited until now to come over. He was going to sign right after the KHL season to burn his ELC so he could get paid as an RFA pretty much immediately.

Good...finally...now live up to the hype. Shesterkin has so far

him back to the KHL though? Same with Romanov and Kaprizov - same question.

Otherwise these guys will go another 5 months with no meaningful hockey if you figure 2020-2021 season begins January 2021.

but i'm being lazy. What is #WeAreGoldStar?

In comment 14932801 MetsAreBack said:

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but i'm being lazy. What is #WeAreGoldStar?

I'm guessing that's his agency

Q: What is the mindset going forward?

Mika: "Win the whole thing. We're not here to just participate and be another team. We want to win. We're here to win...We're going to do everything in our power to do so."

Man this guy has really grown in game and moxie. I can't imagine him saying this 2 years ago. Got me fired up. LFGR Rangers!
Mika Day 1 - ( New Window )

In comment 14932793 pjcas18 said:

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him back to the KHL though? Same with Romanov and Kaprizov - same question. Otherwise these guys will go another 5 months with no meaningful hockey if you figure 2020-2021 season begins January 2021.

It'll be a long time off from real games for sure. I'm excited to see what 6 months of training with Korn will do

In comment 14932793 pjcas18 said:

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him back to the KHL though? Same with Romanov and Kaprizov - same question. Otherwise these guys will go another 5 months with no meaningful hockey if you figure 2020-2021 season begins January 2021.

idk I'm sure they discussed a bunch of options depending on how things go with all the leagues restarting. Getting him signed and hopefully getting him over for phase 3/4 hopefully indicates that his preference is to play here once next season starts. Beyond that I doubt anything is certain.

one of the options I read was loaning them back to the KHL.

I don't know much about how contracts work, but from the sounds of it - if that happens the player (Romanov for example) wouldn't come back to the NHL until the KHL season ended - which is February/March I guess in a normal year.

So, basically you lose two ELC years. If I understand it right. It could be they just hang around to see if the AHL starts sooner or just practice for 5 months.

Such a weird time.

so I think that means he plans on coming over and prepping for next NHL season full time. Not a bad plan for him given he can spend the time learning under Korn for the next 6 months if he chooses before the season.

Works out kind of perfectly for the Isles because he will slot into Greiss' contract slot (he's a FA) and while Varlamov played well he wore down playing too much this year, so now they can phase in Sorokin to hopefully become the guy at whatever pace he is ready to handle. Varlamov would be an expensive backup but I'd put that in the category of good problem to have it Sorokin debuts strongly. Wheeler just named him his #1 goalie prospect and imaging the guy in his write-up on a Trotz team is pretty exciting.

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1. Ilya Sorokin, G, 24 (New York Islanders — 78th overall, 2014) Given how good Ilya Samsonov, Igor Shesterkin, and Alexandar Georgiev have already shown they can be in the NHL, and how much buzz Yaroslav Askarov has created, it has almost felt like Sorokin’s dominance has been lost in the fray somewhere among his Russian cohorts just by virtue of waiting a year longer in the KHL. That has always felt weird to me because I honestly believe Sorokin has a chance to be the best NHL goalie of the bunch. He has a stronger track record professionally in Europe than Samsonov, Shesterkin and Georgiev, and there are stylistic concerns with Asakrov that don’t exist in Sorokin’s game. I don’t think people properly understand how good Sorokin has been in the KHL. He entered the second-best pro league in the world as a 17-year-old and has a career .930 save percentage in 244 regular-season games (!) since. That’s the equivalent to four 60-game seasons as a virtually unflappable goalie. During that time, he also has a career .940 save percentage across 69 playoff games. We’re talking about a massive sample size. While some of that success is surely linked to playing the vast majority of that career with CSKA, Sorokin also checks a lot of boxes stylistically. At 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds, he’s not the biggest goalie in the world, but Sorokin does an expert job getting set in his stance, squaring up shooters, tracking the play, and seeing through traffic. He’s not the most athletic, nor the tallest, but he rarely looks surprised by shots and swallows rebounds so that he doesn’t have to make a ton of difficult second-opportunity saves. I think he’s going to be a starter — and a good one — though there’s always volatility with projecting goalies.

Wheeler: The top 10 drafted NHL goalie prospects ranking, 2020 edition ($) - ( New Window )

but not sure I'd have Sorokin over Spencer Knight. Knight is the most poised, technically sound goalie prospect I've seen. Some say Askarov is a better prospect, but I've only seen him in INTL tourneys where he didn't fare well. Knight reminds me of Carey Price.

either way, Sorokin is a great prospect.

I love seeing Cayden Primeau on there - not just because he's a hab, but because he was a 7th round pick, and he's Keith's son.

the halo effect of seeing the recent translations to the NHL (especially Shesterkin). Obviously his performance set an impossible and unrealistic bar, but it flashed a startlingly high upside (which is what prospect dreams are made of).

pj, I had a slightly off-topic question for you. I meant to ask it on one of the Lias threads a few weeks ago - I always see people talk about improving a prospect's skating and how that's fixable. I've always thought this was a bit silly/hopeful - players typically have had excellent training and are on the ice non-stop for years by the time they're drafted. It's not like me going from playing once or twice a week to skating five times a week with professional coaches. I can't really recall a guy meaningfully improving his skating after being drafted. Where do you fall - do you think it's something that can be meaningfully improved after being drafted or is it kind of set in stone?

As we Rangers fans know many big names come to NY and struggle to perform to their previous standard. Panarin has flourished. He has 95 points in 69 games(32g/63a/+36) and his impact has gone beyond that. He's currently 4th in the league in scoring and no one is close in plus/minus(nearest is 10 behind).

Watching him night in and night out as a Ranger I'm just blown away not just by his scoring abilities but his hockey sense. I've never seen a guy so regularly just take the puck away from other players. He'll pluck it out of the air with ridiculous hand eye or just somehow adjust his position blind and just be there and the puck is his. It's tremendously fun to watch and must scare the bejesus out of defensemen. Because once he has it he's so dangerous with it.

So excited to see him play his prime years on Broadway. We're entering a NY Ranger championship window imo and I truly believe with Mika, Breadman, Fox and Igor leading a young and very talented team I see a Cup in the near future.

Well deserved - ( New Window )

But his numbers are just as impressive as Sorokin's - 117 games, .935 sv%, 1.68 GAA. 117 isn't a tiny sample, either.

Stepan improved his skating and others have as well. There are some really coveted skating coaches out there and players pay big money to work with them. I doubt they do so if there weren't techniques, striding etc that can be adjusted to improves results.

They do have some good prospects, but it will likely take a few years for all those guys to come together to make a formidable defense. Hopefully Panarin and Zibanejad are still playing at the same level by then.

You could say the same about players in all sports. Take pitchers in baseball for instance. There are some pitching gurus who are highly sought after for their ability to wring a little more out of a pitcher's arm, even guys who have been pros for a while.

In comment 14933006 BrettNYG10 said:

Quote:

pj, I had a slightly off-topic question for you. I meant to ask it on one of the Lias threads a few weeks ago - I always see people talk about improving a prospect's skating and how that's fixable. I've always thought this was a bit silly/hopeful - players typically have had excellent training and are on the ice non-stop for years by the time they're drafted. It's not like me going from playing once or twice a week to skating five times a week with professional coaches. I can't really recall a guy meaningfully improving his skating after being drafted. Where do you fall - do you think it's something that can be meaningfully improved after being drafted or is it kind of set in stone?

Not sure. I think maybe it depends on what coaching they've received. So many hockey players are so bad fundamentally (at the youth levels). I bring my youngest to a figure skating coach in the off-season for private lessons (not this year of course) and the figure skating instructor every year tells me "I'm amazed at how bad fundamentally hockey players are at skating".

And to me it's obvious. We have 50 - 60 min practices two or three times a week (usually twice) and we spend 10 minutes in the beginning of each practices on skating, we have 15-16 skaters and none gets individual attention (and even if they wanted it I have no clue how to coach them, lol). So most kids who don't pick up strides, knee bend, arm stride, posture, etc - they're not going to.

So, I do think if your technique is bad you can improve it with proper coaching - though it's hard to break habits as you say at that age.

But in the end I'm not sure really, and I also question how these guys can ascend to these elite levels being "bad skaters". So what are you really saying? They don't do tight turns like Sidney Crosby or have a first step like Connor McDavid? Don't have straight line speed like Bure? No one does. Brendan Gallagher has built a nice career out of being a "bad skater". I guess what I'm saying is even if someone isn't an elite skater, I think they could still thrive in the NHL with other strong attributes.

But it also may explain (along with size) why Gallagher (for example) fell to the 5th round. I don't think Lias Andersson's skating has anything to do with his current situation.

Miller and Lundkvist will be here soon enough. Trouba(despite over the top criticism based more on his contract than his performance), Fox and Lindgren are all keepers defensively. Though he's a liability in his own end DeAngelo can score and produce on the PP. So we're 4 out of six already. And there are some other young prospects that are in the pipeline as well.

The back end will be ready to hoist sooner than you think, say two years imo.

Some guys are never going to be elite skaters, but with better training they can at least be average skaters rather than lousy skaters. Stepan is a good example here - he was a total snowshoes guy his first couple of seasons but improved to the point that it wasn't a liability anymore, though it still wasn't a strength.

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But in the end I'm not sure really, and I also question how these guys can ascend to these elite levels being "bad skaters".

This is a good point too. I played with a bunch of guys this week on an ACHA D3 team and was blown away at how good they are.

I know Barbara Underhill is a famous coach, to Greg's point. Boyle had that great year after training with her, but I thought most of it was just because his S% was much higher. I remember him looking a bit faster after that off-season, but I could be imagining things.

I also think there's just so much more to skating than speed. I thought Hayes was a great skater even though he wasn't all that fast.

In comment 14933026 Greg from LI said:

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You could say the same about players in all sports. Take pitchers in baseball for instance. There are some pitching gurus who are highly sought after for their ability to wring a little more out of a pitcher's arm, even guys who have been pros for a while.

Do you find see meaningful differences in players performances after an off-season with them?

I did think Trouba was a disappointment, not because of a lack of scoring but because I thought he'd be better in his own end. And, yes, his contract certainly factors in.

Miller is the wild card IMO. From what I've read, he's still pretty raw and learning how to play the position, but his physical gifts are rare and his upside is phenomenal. If he can reach the upper end of his potential, he could be special.

Charlie Morton went from a 30something journeyman to an All-Star when he went to the Astros and they totally overhauled his approach. They've been notorious for working magic with pitchers in recent years. Gerritt Cole was always supposed to dominate but only did sporadically in Pittsburgh, became arguably the best in baseball with Houston. Justin Verlander had a great career in Detroit, then went to Houston and has pitched the best seasons of his career in his late 30s.

I mean, some of this is apples and oranges - in pitching it's often more about approach and game plan more than physical changes. Still, the greater point about top-level athletes benefiting from better coaching remains. Same thing in golf - even one of the greatest ever in Tiger Woods changed coaches after a couple of down years in 2003-4 and then had a few monster years with his new coach.

I've generally always been skeptical of that, which is why I asked. Thanks.

signed for another year in Sweden. That's the right move for him IMO.

Will be a fantastic talent when he gets to the US.

In comment 14933074 pjcas18 said:

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signed for another year in Sweden. That's the right move for him IMO. Will be a fantastic talent when he gets to the US.

Sorry, Lundkvist.

In comment 14933034 BrettNYG10 said:

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Quote: But in the end I'm not sure really, and I also question how these guys can ascend to these elite levels being "bad skaters". This is a good point too. I played with a bunch of guys this week on an ACHA D3 team and was blown away at how good they are. I know Barbara Underhill is a famous coach, to Greg's point. Boyle had that great year after training with her, but I thought most of it was just because his S% was much higher. I remember him looking a bit faster after that off-season, but I could be imagining things. I also think there's just so much more to skating than speed. I thought Hayes was a great skater even though he wasn't all that fast.

It's definitely not just speed IMO that defines a skater or better yet a hockey player. Jonathan Drouin won fastest skater at least once and he's absolutely electric with the puck on his stick (at times) and he still rushes the puck into the zone 1 on 4 and turns it over night after night.

Why? IMO it's because of Hockey IQ.

So hard to define, so elusive, but IMO the key difference maker in a hockey player. More than skating. Your skating has to hit a bar to make it to the NHL, but once you've done that IMO hockey IQ is a big part of the difference.

Connor McDavid has both. Sidney Crosby, doesn't have the that kind of speed, but his hockey IQ is off the charts and he's at as elite a skater in terms of edge work I have ever seen.

And I use clips of Crosby to teach my kids about tight turns, edge work, eagle/mohawk turns, angles, puck protection.

I define Hockey IQ like the supreme court described obscenity "I know it when I see it". Only a handful of players in Crosby's class. Datsyuk, Gaudreau (though his size limits him IMO), McDavid, and maybe Bergeron, can't really say anyone else belongs in that group from this era (yet).

It's why Chris Kreider is merely good, not great, despite having physical gifts to die for - huge, powerful, and blindingly fast, but he just doesn't have top-shelf hockey IQ.

In comment 14933203 Greg from LI said:

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It's why Chris Kreider is merely good, not great, despite having physical gifts to die for - huge, powerful, and blindingly fast, but he just doesn't have top-shelf hockey IQ.

Great example, such a frustrating player, but this year I thought he took some strides, maybe riding Mika's coat tails a little. Bigger players sometimes take longer to develop. Kind of like John LeClair for example, but that's who I always thought Kreider would become, John LeClair 2.0. Lindros kind of helped LeClair but that was more two-way than some people want to admit.

these are exhbitions, but so what, what else are you going to do on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in late July.

For the summer I didnt want to use days during summer but looks like im putting in for vacation 3-7 so i can see the isles at noon. Cant wait 🤞🏻

In comment 14933244 KDubbs said:

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For the summer I didnt want to use days during summer but looks like im putting in for vacation 3-7 so i can see the isles at noon. Cant wait 🤞🏻

Are the isles confirmed the noon game each day?

In comment 14933258 JayBinQueens said:

Quote:

In comment 14933244 KDubbs said: Quote: For the summer I didnt want to use days during summer but looks like im putting in for vacation 3-7 so i can see the isles at noon. Cant wait 🤞🏻 Are the isles confirmed the noon game each day?

Yup games 2 and 3 are at noon. Game 1 is at 4 on saturday aug 1. The schedule pjcas posted straight from nhl.com

In comment 14933260 KDubbs said:

Quote:

In comment 14933258 JayBinQueens said: Quote: In comment 14933244 KDubbs said: Quote: For the summer I didnt want to use days during summer but looks like im putting in for vacation 3-7 so i can see the isles at noon. Cant wait 🤞🏻 Are the isles confirmed the noon game each day? Yup games 2 and 3 are at noon. Game 1 is at 4 on saturday aug 1. The schedule pjcas posted straight from nhl.com

Ah, hadn't digested that yet. It completely upset w that. Florida always has low attendance and it's not like the Isles are a national draw so noon makes sense. Happy with the 4pm game on Saturday

In comment 14933203 Greg from LI said:

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It's why Chris Kreider is merely good, not great, despite having physical gifts to die for - huge, powerful, and blindingly fast, but he just doesn't have top-shelf hockey IQ.

I also don't think Kreider has great hands, either.