Daily Roundup: Patrik Laine likely to stay in Winnipeg, Anthony Mantha inks a four-year deal, and more
Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s daily NHL roundup where we bring you the NHL’s most important news and rumours every day.
@Patrik Laine rumour update
A rumour that we’ve been seemingly hearing about for over a year now is about the Winnipeg Jets and Patrik Laine’s inevitable divorce.
Laine’s production and usage in Winnipeg’s lineup have declined over the past two seasons. In his first two years in the league, Laine scored 80 goals, but, over the past two seasons, he’s scored just 58. The assumption is that Laine wants a change of scenery and the Jets could move him to acquire a much-needed top defenceman.
Over at Sportsnet, Ken Wiebe says that Laine is likely to start the season with the Jets and that they aren’t at all desperate to make a move.
Unless the Jets are blown away by an offer in the coming weeks or months, the most likely scenario would see Laine report to training camp and play out the final year of his deal – which includes an AAV of $6.75 million (and a salary of $7.5 million).
We’re probably more likely to see a Laine trade executed next off-season when the former second-overall pick becomes a restricted free agent.
@Anthony Mantha signs four-year deal
Speaking of restricted free agents, Steve Yzerman has dealt with his most important un-signed player. The Red Wings and forward @Anthony Mantha have agreed on a four-year deal worth $5,700,000 annually.
The #RedWings signed 26 y/o Anthony Mantha to 4 year $5.7M Cap Hit Deal.
Year 1: $4.2M Salary, $300K Signing Bonus
Yr 2: $5.3M Salary
Yr 3: $6.5M Salary
Yr 4: $6.5M Salary
-Covers 2 UFA years
-16G 38P in 43GP
-Rep'd by Pat Brisson @CAAHockey https://t.co/jk4T1n1bcX
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) November 3, 2020
Mantha has been a bright spot on the Red Wings as they grind through their much-needed rebuild. Last season, he scored 16 goals and 38 points over 43 games, and he recorded 48 points in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. If not for injury and the COVID-19 pandemic, Matha would have shattered his career-high in production last season.
@Dmytro Timashov is now Detroit’s only remaining restricted free agent. The Wings still have nearly $10 million in cap room left to work with this off-season. There’s plenty of space to make a splash or two.
NHL hoping for some fans in seats
The NHL is targeting Jan. 1 as a start date for the 2020-21 season. Any later and things begin to get difficult as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 23. Ideally, the NHL awards the Stanley Cup before the Olympics begin so they don’t have to compete with the Games for viewership.
“I think there is some flexibility if we were to choose that route. There’s a lot left to be played out on the Olympics front too,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “We have models that extend past the Olympic time period. Those are alternatives that are on the table. I can’t tell you they’re the ones that are necessarily going to be pursued, but I think there’s some flexibility there.”
Also, ESPN reports that the NHL is hoping for a scenario in which they can have some stands in the seats for games. The NHL, of course, is a gate-driven league, so being able to have fans even in a limited capacity would help significantly reduce the loss of revenue.
“I think the ultimate goal is to end up with fans in the arenas. I don’t think we’ll get to capacity, but I think we’ll have enough socially distanced fans,” an NHL source told ESPN.
While the NHL would probably like to avoid clashing with the Olympics, they would likely push the start of the season back if it meant being able to have fans in the seats. Elsewhere in North America, we saw 10,000 fans in the stands for the World Series at Globe Life Park in Arlington and some NFL cities have varying amounts of fans for games.