What You Need to Know August 31

This will be the second installment of " What You Need to Know" this week. For those that know this is my summer series where I run down a whole bunch of news/stories/rumours that have taken place in the NHL or will impact the NHL over the last week. Here we go:

• Players un-happy with NHL's second offer

It (the NHL proposal) was a pig with lipstick on, instead of a pig.'' ~Red Wings Dan Cleary

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had stated after that "Substantial differences" had been implemented in the leagues second proposal to the players. The second proposal would see the players percent of the pie rise to 46 but add that a percentage of players salaries would go towards escrow. The tone from the players after looking over the proposal was pretty negative, some even went on to say "Bettman is adamant on his third lockout".

The two sides met again today and the NHLPA was expected to present their changes to the league second proposal.

• Oilers lock up another young stall in Eberle

Shortly after his best friend both on and off the ice Taylor Hall signed his deal with the Oilers, Jordan Eberle signed on the dotted line. The Oilers and Eberle agreed to a 6 year deal worth $36 million.

"Obviously I'm pretty excited, with Taylor getting his done last week, I was pretty anxious. I'm happy to be an Oiler ... and I think with the direction the team's going it's pretty obvious that there's a lot of excitement level around Edmonton and throughout our locker room."

Heck for $36 million, I'd be happy to be an Oiler too! This is a great signing both for Eberle and the Oilers as they help lock up another key member of their core going forward. Eberle has 52 goals and 67 assists in 147 games with the Oilers.

• Bogosian on the shelf 4-6 months

The Winnipeg Jets will be without the services of defenceman Zach Bogosian for the next 4-6 months after he underwent a successful surgery on his right wrist. The surgery was to repair a torn ligament in his wrist.

• Top prospect for Wild goes wild and breaks his leg

Mario Lucia one of the top prospects for the Minnesota Wild broke his right fibula and tore ligaments in his ankle when a teammate fell on him at practice. The injury will likely result in Lucia missing the first three months of his freshman year at Notre Dame. The Wild took Lucia in the second round in the 2011 draft and is thought of to be in the top 10 of up and coming Wild prospects.

"Hopefully I'll get back quicker than three months, but I'm in a cast for seven weeks, so there's not much I can do about that."

• Roy recovering well from shoulder surgery

Sticking with the injury news, Derek Roy is eyeing a return to the Dallas Stars in November. After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Dallas Stars this offseason Roy underwent shoulder surgery to fix an ailing injury. Roy will soon be getting back on the ice and is looking forward to joining his new teammates;

"I haven’t skated in a while, I am going to start skating in three weeks or a month, and get that back up to speed, keep rehabbing the shoulder and move forward."

Roy managed 44 points in 80 games which resulted in a disappointing season with the Sabres. The Stars are hoping that he will be able to up that production now that he fixed his shoulder.

• More  star players heading overseas

While nothing yet is official (and wont be until after September 15th) players are starting to look for other places to play next season. In Monday's edition I mentioned the Ovechkin has been in contact with the KHL and this past week his lawyer flew over to talk about a possible contract. Even worse news for fans if the lockout goes past December fans can expect to see the golden boy Sidney Crosby head overseas. Crosby's agent said if the NHL remains on strike into late December Crosby will indeed look for other options overseas. Crosby's teammate Evgeni Malkin will also be heading overseas if a lockout is imminent. On top of that the KHL president has said he is "Prepared to welcome all locked out NHLers, the gate is wide open". Speaking as a NHL fan *gulp*

• Turris resigns after a fresh start in Ottawa

After being labelled as a player who didn't try hard and would quit on a team when he wanted out, Kyle Turris was traded to the Ottawa Senators and found a new home at the end of last season. Now it appears he'll be making Ottawa his home for the foreseeable future. The Senators and Turris agreed to a 5 year contract extension that will see him stay in the nation's capital through the 2017-2018 season.

"I'm really excited, I love it here in Ottawa. I love being part of the organization and the people in it and the hockey team we have here. I'm really looking forward to being here the next six years, and hopefully past that. I knew at the end of the year that this was the place I wanted to be, and I wanted to be for a long time. I love the city. I love everything about it."

 

• Rene Bourque to miss 8-12 weeks

More injury news to report, the Montreal Canadiens Rene Bourque will be out for the next 8-12 weeks after surgery to repair a wall in his abdomin that collapsed during training.

That will do it for the stories from the past week.

What You Need to Know August 27

It's been a while since I've written an instalment of my summer series "What you need to know". Normally they come out of Fridays, but since I'm sick of talking about an impending lockout I decided it was time to give you all a breakdown on whats going on around the league. Here we go;

• Nail Yakupov battling leg infection

The first overall pick from the 2012 entry draft and top prospect of the Edmonton Oilers had an accident while training which resulted in a leg infection. While taking part in a 3 on 3 training session in Edmonton, Yakupov took a tumble off a treadmill. It was reported he suffered a leg infection from the fall/cut and had to stay off the ice. He is now back to training. Yakupov insists he is now fine;

"Nobody worry about my leg!" ~Nail Yakupov

• Neuvirth blames translation for harsh comments about teammates

The Washington Capitals goaltender is trying to cover his tracks in a big way. Neuvirth had an interview with a Czech media outlet who were kind enough to translate the interview into English, many were surprised by the goaltenders comments. In the interview he claimed that Brayden Holtby was his "weakest competition ever and he would have no problem winning the starting job" and that teammate Alexander Ovechkin "wasn't the same player he used to be".

Last week Neuvirth said his comments were not translated correctly and he didn't say those things in that context. Only Neurvirth knows what he really meant in his interview and hopefully it wasn't anything serious. Here's a link to the interview.

• Oilers lock up Taylor Hall

The Edmonton Oilers locked up their "face of the franchise" and possibly their next captain Taylor Hall to a 7 year deal worth $42 million.
The Oilers drafted Hall first overall in the 2010 draft and he helps lead a young group of talented Oilers.

"I'm only 20 years old. I think this just shows the commitment that I have here. When they said seven years I didn't blink, I'm comfortable being here for that long, and I think by that time, hopefully we're a perennial threat. That's my main goal, and that's my mindset when I signed the deal, is that that's going to happen." ~ Taylor Hall

•  19 days to make a deal

There are roughly 19 days left for the NHL and NHLPA to agree on a new CBA. The impending deadline of September 15th is coming quickly, leaving little time for negotiating. One side must cave if there is to be hockey and look for it to be the players.

• Predators lock up Fisher

The Nashville Predators and Mike Fisher agreed on a two-year contract extension worth $8.4 million. The deal assures that Fisher who would have become a free agent during the 2013-2014 campaign will be staying Nashville.

• Flyers lock up Hartnell

The Eastern Conference wont be getting any easier to play in next season. The "broad street bullies' have resigned their agitator Scott Hartnell to a six-year extension worth $28.5 million. Last season he proved to the Flyers and fans that he can do more than just annoy opponents physically, he can also annoy them on the score board; He had a career year last season which saw him score 37 goals and rack up 67 points, a feat the Flyers are hoping he can repeat.

• Canada on top once again

Team Canada won their fifth straight Ivan Hlinka championship with a 4-0 victory over finland. The tournament helps feature some of the best prospects available for the 2013 draft and Nathan MacKinnon made sure he made a lasting impression netting a hat-trick to help solidify the win for Canada.

• Traverse City Prospects tournament cancelled

Sad news for Sabres fans or any fan who likes to watch prospects get together and battle it out. The tournament the Buffalo Sabres rookies won last season has been cancelled. The Detroit Red Wings organization which hosts the tournament decided to cancel the even due to the uncertainty surrounding the CBA.

• KHL after Ovechkin

Remember how I've said many NHL stars would head over to Russia to play in the KHL? It's already happening, the Moscow Dynamo club out of the KHL has told the media they will attempt to sign Washington Capitals captain and Russian Alexander Ovechkin to a contract if there is indeed an NHL lockout.