PHT’s Morning Skate takes a look around the world of hockey to see what’s happening and what we’ll be talking about around the NHL world and beyond.
Brodie Brazil examines the current labor negotiations from a number of different angles. Among other things, he thinks that the Winter Classic might offer the NHL with an ideal date to start the season in the event of a lockout. That might be bad news for fans because it might subconsciously “take pressure off negotiations.” (CSN Bay Area)
Well, if a lockout is coming, here’s tongue-in-cheek list of ways to survive it. Anyone interested in an AHL fantasy league? (Ottawa Citizen)
Lightning prospect Jaroslav Janus has agreed to a tryout contract with the KHL’s HC Slovan. He’s expected to play in Europe next season to prevent a potential AHL logjam between Janus, Dustin Tokarski, and Riku Helenius. (Tampa Bay Times)
While Janus heads to Europe, Blue Jackets prospect Oscar Dansk will travel from Sweden to North America after coming to terms with the OHL Erie Otters. (NHL.com)
Jerred Smithson still feels like he has a lot to prove. (Vernon Morning Star)
Sports Illustrated graded the Eastern Conference teams based on their summer moves. Even after the New York Rangers added Rick Nash, they still awarded higher scores to the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. (Sports Illustrated)