Marc-Andre Fleury is making one last stop in Pittsburgh before retiring. Also, the Rookie Showcase began on Friday, and a former Avalanche defenseman signed in Sweden. Are the Los Angeles Kings facing a notable injury before camp?
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — September 13.
Colorado Hockey Now
The Avalanche opened the Rookie Showcase on Friday with an impressive showing against a Utah Mammoth roster loaded with first round talent. Colorado’s prospects will practice today and play one more game Sunday against Vegas before things get going for the veterans.
Following Thursday’s practice, director of player development Brian Willsie met with media to highlight some of the names to watch on the roster. Everyone’s excited to watch Sean Behrens and we should probably be talking more about the breakout season Maxmillian Curran had last year in juniors. But the two names Willsie feels are most NHL ready are Gavin Brindley and Nikita Prishchepov.
READ MORE:Â Brindley, Prishchepov Draw Praise Ahead of Rookie Showcase Opener
Last year the Avs signed Calvin de Haan on the opening day of free agency. He ended up getting traded to the New York Rangers and couldn’t quite stick on that team either. Now, the veteran defenseman is going to spend a year in Sweden after signing a one-year deal with Rogle BK of the SHL.
Around The NHL
Another PTO: The Dallas Stars are inviting Adam Erne to camp on a PTO. Erne hasn’t played in the NHL since 2023-24 and appeared in just 10 AHL games last season. Also, the Rangers have invited 34-year-old Andrej Sustr to camp. The towering defenseman has spent the last three seasons in Europe.
Perry Injured: The L.A. Kings might have to start training camp without one of their veterans. Corey Perry suffered an injury during a skate on Friday, and it’s unclear if there will be an official update from the team before camp begins. The 40-year-old Perry was one of the Kings’ many signings on July 1.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Now for my favorite story of the day. Marc-Andre Fleury is signing a PTO with the Penguins. But it’s not the same kind of PTO that others have signed.
Fleury isn’t looking to crack an NHL roster after spending this past year in Minnesota on a retirement tour. It sounds like the longtime loveable NHL goaltender just wants to finish his career where it began.
The Pens announced that he’ll partake in a preseason game in two weeks, which will likely be the last time he dresses in an NHL game of any kind. One last time, he’ll get to practice and play with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. That’s pretty cool.
Vegas Hockey Now:Â Fleury was drafted No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in 2003 and spent 14 years with the franchise before being selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 expansion draft. We all remember that magical run he led them on that first season.
Philly Hockey Now: Are the Flyers wrong to continue to be patient with their rebuild? I don’t think so — I feel like Danny Briere is doing the right thing with a roster that still needs to draft and develop more talent. But my colleague William James makes an argument for why they should speed up the process.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs’ biggest splash of the summer was a whopper of a trade for defenseman Noah Dobson. Is that enough of an upgrade for their blueline?
