Vancouver Canucks Skate: Eichel to Report, NHL Giant to Set Record, Signings

Ticky tocky goes the clocky – still no sign of contracts between the Vancouver Canucks and the two star RFA’s Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. We’re keeping a close eye on it. In the meantime …

Let’s Skate! …

— Other Canadian teams have been busy with some contracts. The Ottawa Senators signed former 11th-overall pick (2016) Logan Brown to a one-year, two-way contract and the Edmonton Oilers inked 22-year-old Kailer Yamamoto to a one-year extension worth $1.175-million. He was the Oilers 22nd-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

— The Canadian Press has a report out stating that Sabres captain Jack Eichel, disgruntled in Buffalo and dealing with a herniated disc in his neck, will report to Sabres camp for his physical on Wednesday.

— The tallest player in NHL history, and one of the fittest, Zdeno Chara, has signed on to play more hockey. “Big Z” signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders on Saturday, the team that drafted him in the 3rd-round back in 1996. The move adds necessary blueline depth to the Isles roster and gives Chara another chance at a Cup run with a team that’s lost a Conference Final both of the last two years. It also gives the 44-year-old a chance to represent and likely captain Team Slovakia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Chara originally played four seasons on Long Island, four more in Ottawa, fourteen in Boston, and last season in Washington. He is 44 games away from becoming the all-time leader in career regular season games played by an NHL defenceman. Chris Chelios presently holds the mark at 1,651. Besides the Stanley Cup win in 2011, Chara led the Bruins to the Cup Final on two other occasions.

— Friday, St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly had comments about Vladimir Tarasenko’s trade request during the NHL’s Media Tour in Chicago. The comments tag a story about Tarasenko’s background playing in Russia for his dad in the international newsletter Hockey Wanderlüst today. It follows a story about Chara.

— Speaking of the Blues, their rookies beat the Detroit Red Wings rookies 5-2 at the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan yesterday. Detroit Hockey Now has some prospect tidbits on Steve Yzerman’s club, including “Swedish forward Jonatan Berggren, a possibility to make the Detroit Red Wings roster this season, was injured in the first period of a game against the St. Louis Blues at the NHL Prospect Tournament Saturday.”

The Vancouver Canucks rookie camp wraps up today. Main training camp starts Wednesday with off-ice physicals and evaluations.

Enjoy the Hockey Action!