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Around the NHL: McDavid isn’t over Game 7 loss, 4 teams interested in Giordano
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Photo credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Shane Seney
Sep 9, 2024, 08:30 EDTUpdated: Sep 9, 2024, 08:27 EDT
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NHL training camps are just around the corner as we welcome you into another segment of Around the NHL. After a very busy August throughout the league, general managers continue to piece together their roster as the intensity is about to ramp up in a major way once camps open.
From some significant injuries, to veterans still looking for work, here’s what’s going on around the NHL:

Game 7 loss still haunts Connor McDavid

Despite a summer full of celebration tying the knot with Lauren Kyle in beautiful Muskoka, ON, Connor McDavid is still very frustrated about losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers. Admittedly, it may be something he never fully gets over.
McDavid, who has been training with Auston Matthews throughout parts of his offseason, including a trip overseas to Germany, has come to terms with the fact it’s going to eat away at him until he fully gets the job done. “It’s something that you’ll never really get over,” McDavid explained to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. “You’ll never not feel those emotions when you think about it. But ultimately, time moves on, and you’ve got to get ready to go again.”
“I went with a little bit of a different strategy this summer,” he said. “In years past, it’s just been very volume-heavy, very go, go, go. Throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks. That strategy, as well as it’s worked for me, I think about the beginning of last year.
“I was just very tired and fatigued from a long summer of training and was not feeling very good on the ice. And it translated.”
Oilers and Maple Leafs fans are hopeful both McDavid and Matthews picked up a little something from each other and can show it off this season. Toronto’s newest captain and the rest of the team welcomes McDavid and his Oilers’ teammates to town for Hockey Night in Canada on November 16.

Maple Leafs have competition for Giordano

The Maple Leafs have yet to close the door on veteran defenseman Mark Giordano and it turns out Toronto isn’t the only one hovering over the veteran blueliner. According to Giordano’s agent, Ritch Winter, via Sportsnet’s Flames Talk, the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres have all been in contact with Winter regarding Giordano’s services.
Giordano turns 41 next month and is the oldest player in the NHL. After sliding down the depth chart and dealing with some injury troubles, Giordano only dressed in 46 games last season for the Maple Leafs, recording nine points.
Toronto still hasn’t officially made a decision on Jani Hakanpaa, so it could certainly be looking to add another defenseman for camp, meanwhile the Oilers traded Cody Ceci and lost Philip Broberg to an offer sheet from the St Louis Blues. The Sabres on the other hand, they have a very talented but inexperienced blueline and could certainly sprinkle in another veteran to help balance out their roster.
Wherever he winds up, Giordano will be beloved and impactful on and off the ice as he’s known as being one of the best teammates and people in hockey.

Blues’ Torey Krug done for the season

St Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug will miss the entire 2024-25 season due to requiring ankle surgery. The veteran defenseman was brought to tears explaining the situation to the media recently:
Krug, 33, appeared in 77 games last season for the Blues tallying 39 points. St Louis will miss Krug’s two-way game and ability to help quarterback the power play. He was also a big part of the penalty kill for the Blues, so it makes sense to see GM Doug Armstrong very active of late.
The Blues signed Ryan Suter earlier in the offseason and recently came to terms with restricted free-agent Philip Broberg on a two-year offer sheet, which wasn’t matched by the Oilers. The 23-year-old Broberg excelled during the Stanley Cup Final and put himself on the map as an NHL regular. Armstrong and the Blues are hopeful he’ll be able to step right in on his new team and help subsidize some of Krug’s hefty minutes.
Craig Berube’s old team also added Pierre-Olivier Joseph to their blueline this summer and are hopeful they can improve on their 43-33-6 record from 2023-24. The Blues missed the playoffs by just six points last season. Berube and the Leafs welcome St Louis to town on October 24 in their first matchup of the season.

Offseason Quick Hits:

  • Anaheim Ducks 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke will miss roughly 6-8 weeks due to a foot fracture he sustained while gearing up for his first NHL training camp. It won’t likely be until the regular season when Sennecke is next available, as he’ll be in tough to crack the Ducks lineup.
  • Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes scored a career-high 17 goals in 2023-24 and thinks he can surpass the 20-goal mark this season. Hughes admitted recently he’s been training very hard this summer with a stern focus on putting the puck in the net from all over the ice.
  • After 17 seasons, defenceman Marc Staal has retired. Despite hanging up his skates, Staal hasn’t stepped away from the game he loves, joining the New York Rangers as a development assistant. Look for Staal to help defensive prospects all over the organization try to develop their games for the next level.
  • Alex Goligoski also retired. The 39-year-old helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win a Stanley Cup in 2009 and his 1078 career NHL games and 475 points span across the Penguins, Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes, ending with the Minnesota Wild.
  • The New Jersey Devils signed former first-round pick Jakub Zboril and former Maple Leafs’ goaltender Michael Hutchinson to professional tryout agreements. Both Zboril and Hutchinson will try to impress former Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe throughout training camp and earn themselves an NHL contract for the 24-25 season

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