Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from the NHL and around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit for the PHT Morning Skate? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.
• Hours before their scheduled arbitration hearing, Connor Brown and the Senators settled on a three-year, $10.8M deal. [Ottawa Sun]
• Gary Roberts was among the hires announced by the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. The former NHLer will be the team’s “sports science and performance consultant.” [Kraken]
• The Kraken are planning to spend, spend, spend when they enter the league. [Seattle Times]
• How trainers prepared NHLers for life in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles. [The Hockey News]
• On Steve Yzerman’s aura luring free agents to an improving Red Wings team. [Detroit News]
• Playing for Ralph Krueger again helped Tobias Rieder decide to sign with the Sabres. [NHL.com]
• Mark Borowiecki’s legacy off the ice will never be forgotten in Ottawa. [Silver Seven Sens]
• On the 2021-22 Rangers: “The fragile house of cards that represent a contending hockey team are on the table. It’s time for Quinn to start shaping the base of the house so it can make progress into the second and third level going forward.” [Gotham Sports Network]
• Peter Laviolette is bringing his old assistant, Kevin McCarthy, with him to Washington. [NBC Sports Washington]
• Would Sami Vatanen be a fit in Winnipeg? [Jets Nation]
• The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals are opting out of the 2021-22 season via the league’s COVID-19 Voluntary Suspension Policy. [Virginia Pilot]
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.