In Red Wings Land
Expansion draft preview: Atlantic Division | The Hockey News
THN’s list for Red Wings’ protects only differs from the one Peter & Mike put together by one (and they covered how it could go either way with the Jensen vs. Ouellet decision). The rest of the Atlantic is around here too. Matt Larkin thinks it’s either Sheahan or Glendening, but I can’t for the life of me think why Vegas would take Glendening over Sheahan. Despite the down offensive year, Sheahan’s only other potential problem is his cost versus Glendening, but that should be more than made up for by Sheahan’s additional value.
Also, the part about potentially leaving both goalies exposed is a little scary, but it would be an interesting wrinkle.
Around the NHL
Kovalchuk wants to return, Devils open to sign and trade – Article – TSN
So Kovalchuk wants back, but not with New Jersey, who still has to sign him before he can go somewhere else. It’s an interesting mess going on, but this is one the Wings ought to be watching from the sidelines. Kovalchuk at 34 can still contribute, but he’s going to be one of those “puts you over the top” pieces instead of a rebuilding core piece. I think the Devils will end up getting a decent return to let Kovy back in, but nothing Earth-shattering.
On a side note to this, it’s interesting that Kovalchuk is the second SKA St. Petersburg player talking about (or already having signed) an NHL deal. With Shipyachov going to Vegas, the Gagarin Cup-winning KHL squad of soon-to-be-NHL-free-agent Pavel Datsyuk is thinning out. Datsyuk still has one more deal left on his contract with SKA, but hey… it’s not like he’s never walked out early on a multi-year deal before. Maybe he can rejoin his beloved Arizona Coyotes.
