Several Capitals face pressure this season, Oilers winger Evander Kane to undergo surgery, plus the latest on the Canucks and Blue Jackets in today’s NHL Headlines and Rumors.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau believes Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and defenseman Jakob Chychrun will feel the heat entering this season.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images)
Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record of 894. Dubois seeks a bounce-back performance after a lackluster 2023-24 campaign with the Los Angeles Kings led to his trade with the Capitals. Meanwhile, Chychrun hopes to re-establish himself as a top-pairing defenseman in his contract year after being traded by the Arizona Coyotes and Ottawa Senators in successive years.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin is already well-established as a future Hall of Famer and the greatest player in Capitals history. Few fans and pundits will fault the 39-year-old winger if it takes him a couple of seasons to break Gretzky’s goal record.
Dubois and Chychrun have much more at stake. They must silence the growing criticism about their recent performances and prove they still belong among the league’s best players.
THE SCORE: Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane is scheduled to undergo sports hernia surgery within the next 10 days or so.
Kane, 33, played through the injury last season. It affected his performance, limiting him to 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kane has a $5.125 million annual salary cap hit through 2025-26. He could end up on long-term injury reserve to start the season. The Oilers could use that cap relief to bolster their roster during his absence but must be cap-compliant when he’s ready to return to action.
CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported Friday that the Vancouver Canucks offered a one-year contract to free-agent goaltender Kevin Lankinen. However, it’s believed worth under $1 million, which is less than the $2 million the 29-year-old netminder earned last season with the Nashville Predators.
THE PROVINCE: Patrick Johnston reports the Canucks also reached out to free-agent goalie Antti Raanta but the 35-year-old is not interested in playing in the NHL anymore.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks seek a veteran insurance policy between the pipes in case starter Thatcher Demko hasn’t recovered from a nagging undisclosed injury when the season opens next month. They’re bumping against the $88 million cap ceiling and don’t want to go into LTIR to address the issue. Perhaps they’ll consider a trade if a dollar-in, dollar-out deal can be found.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH’s Brian Hedger reports Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said he’s down to 10 healthy forwards with Justin Danforth seeing a doctor on Monday for a wrist/hand issue that required offseason surgery.
Waddell indicated he’ll look at pursuing unsigned free-agent veterans to fill the void at forward.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports Waddell wants to sign players to actual contracts and not professional tryout offers. Portzline listed James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Labanc and Kyle Okposo among the notable UFA forwards still available. He also noted Phil Kessel is looking for an opportunity to play in the NHL after going unsigned last season.
Portzline also noted that Waddell could sign free agents currently on PTO contracts with other clubs.
Waddell also said he’s spoken with the league and the NHL Players’ Association for guidance about how to measure the Blue Jackets’ salary-cap figure for this season following the death of Johnny Gaudreau last month.