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PHT Morning Skate: Matthews’ lethal shot; Will Seattle excel in first year?

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Alan Shearer x Premier League visit to New York Rangers, New York, NY. December 6, 2018

Peter Garritano

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• The Premier League’s all-time leading scorer, Alan Shearer, attended New York Rangers practice. He’s in New York because of the NBCSN Premier League festival that’s going on on Saturday. (Top)

• With the salary cap potentially rising next season, Leafs center Auston Matthews could become the highest paid player in the NHL. (National Post)

• Speaking of Matthews, the release on his shot is absolutely incredible. “It’s obviously extremely hard to defend. You envy it a little bit, in a way. People basically (put him) in a telephone booth, and the way he’s able to release it and be as accurate — it’s just on top of the goalie so fast, and he puts it where he wants it, just extremely hard to stop. It’s hard to feel there’s anyone as lethal as him right now.” (Toronto Star)

• Chuck Fletcher has a number of things to tackle now that he’s GM of the Flyers, but the first thing on his list is sorting out the goaltending situation. (Philly.com)

• Even though NHL teams have a better understanding of the expansion process, Seattle could find a way to replicate the success Vegas had in their first year. (The Hockey News)

• On the flip side, NBC Sports Bay Area argues that it’s going to be pretty tough for Seattle to have the same kind of success as the Golden Knights. (NBC Sports Bay Area)

• The Seattle group has hired Mari Horita to build a community around the game of hockey in the city. (Sonics Rising)

• The Senators have to find a way to keep pending unrestricted free agent Mark Stone in Ottawa for years to come. (TSN.ca)

• The Long Island Rail Road is looking to help Islanders fans get to the new Belmont site once the arena is completed. (The Sports Daily)

• It’s time for the Boston Bruins to honor some of the legendary goalies that have come through their organization. (Featurd)

• Carter Hart is one of the better goaltending prospects in the NHL, but he’s still not ready to make the leap to the big leagues just yet. (Trentonian)

• Yes, the Sabres have Jack Eichel down the middle, but their overall depth as center is lacking right now. (Die by the Blade)

• Jordan Kyrou got a brief stint with the Blues earlier this season, but he didn’t end up playing. Now that he’s back, the Blues have to find a way to get him in the lineup for every game. (Bleedin Blue)

• Next year’s World Hockey Championship will have a new overtime format. (IIHF.com)

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.