Insider Trading: Sens hope to rely on depth to fill void left by Norris injury
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How will the Ottawa Senators fill the void left by Josh Norris' injury? Was the viral video of the Arizona Coyotes' visitors dressing room at Mullett Arena telling the whole story? Have some teams already decided whether to buy or sell? The Insiders bring you that, and more.
Ottawa Senators head coach DJ Smith isn't sure star forward Josh Norris will be able to return at all this season after suffering a shoulder injury. What are Ottawa's plans to fill the void?
Darren Dreger: Well, there's no easy fix, obviously. When you lose a piece as significant as Josh Norris, so it's going to be coverage by committee. They know that Shane Pinto is more or less ready to slide into that spot. They're not going to overwhelm him there. They've got Derick Brassard, so you've got the experience and the presence of the veteran centre. They've got other pieces as well. Mark Kastelic, who just signed an extension, maybe he can play his way into that spot and likewise for Dylan Gambrell, and they also have Ridly Greig, who's developing nicely. So up front, they feel like they're OK. Defensively, that was a bigger concern coming into this season, but collectively that blueline has fared well. They like Travis Hamonic as the fit there. General manager Pierre Dorion says that Erik Brannstrom is playing the best hockey of his life and they got Jacob Bernard-Docker, who is on a tear in the American Hockey League as well. So, less of a state of urgency in the nation's capital when it comes to adding significant pieces.
What's the entire story behind the temporary visitors dressing room at the Arizona Coyotes' new arena?
Chris Johnston: I would say this is a case of maybe don't believe everything you see on the Internet because that video is taken in the very early stages of the construction of the temporary visitors room at Mullet Arena. Someone who knows about what's going on there told me it was about one per cent of the build that will ultimately be done before Friday when the Winnipeg Jets move in for the first game there as a visiting team and so I don't think it's anywhere near any concern. There's NHL and NHLPA officials on site making sure everything is up to standard and certainly it seems like one of those ones where we call got a little bit ahead of ourselves because I believe that will look and feel like a normal locker room under not normal conditions.
Dreger: In terms of a bigger arena, the new build update. Both the National Hockey League and the Arizona Coyotes are optimistic that the City of Tempe council will finally approve, so the Arizona Coyotes can in fact move forward with their new build. There's a presentation council meeting on Nov. 22, but Nov. 29 is the big council meeting. And that's where council is expected to vote, approving the Coyotes to move forward with their new build.
Have the San Jose Sharks decided whether they will be buyers or sellers this year?
Pierre LeBrun: Well, what I would tell you, Gino, is that in talking with other teams around the league, that the Sharks have let it be known that they're willing to listen on pretty much every player on their roster other than perhaps Tomas Hertl, who just signed an eight-year extension last year. Listen, Mike Grier is the new GM, he didn't take long to make significant changes last summer either and this is where he's going to need to be creative. Brent Burns only had three teams he could be traded for last summer. He actually waived to go to Carolina which wasn't one of the three teams. That Sharks' payroll and roster right now has a bunch of guys, led by the likes of Erik Karlsson, with full no-move clauses, it's going to be difficult for Mike Grier to enact the kind of change that he wants, but that's his intention over the next couple years.
After Hockey Hall of Famer Börje Salming publicly announced his battle with ALS, some fellow Swedish hockey greats have taken up the fight against the disease.
Johnston: Let's maybe call this the happy spin on a difficult situation and in this case it's Nicklas Lidstrom who signed up to take part in the new foundation that Börje Salming is launching in support of ALS research. Lidstrom is a seven-time Norris Trophy winner, but he grew up looking up to Salming, that was his boyhood hero. The two met recently in Sweden where Lidstrom agreed to take part in this foundation to help raise more funds for a good cause and I would suspect as we get closer [to] the Hockey Hall of Fame [induction celebration, Nov. 11-14 in Toronto] in the next couple weeks, that you'll hear more people from the hockey world stepping forward to support Börje Salming.