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.
• Patrik Laine on John Tortorella’s style: “I understand the need for a tight system, but all players are different. I do not even want to be like everyone else. I am who I am and do things my way. Everyone should be given the opportunity to be themselves. Then, of course, you have to play within the team’s system. I think it’s stupid not to use my potential. But then it’s another matter what the coaches think.” [Columbus Dispatch]
• Will the Kraken be able to draft a roster like the Golden Knights for success in their inaugural year? [Five Thirty Eight]
• There are lessons the Kraken can learn from the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Lightning. [Sound of Hockey]
• Comparing the Coyotes to the Lightning and wondering how long Arizona is away from icing a Cup contender. [Five for Howling]
• Wet weather was to blame for the dent in the Stanley Cup, says Pat Maroon. [Tampa Bay Times]
Not to steal @TBLightning's thunder, but we've got our very own Stanley🦒 Born on the night the Bolts took home the Cup, the name was a clear winner! pic.twitter.com/ZisAvbBD9d
— Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (@BuschGardens) July 13, 2021
• Capitals GM Brian MacLellan has a decision to make as to whether to keep Vitek Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov. [NBC Sports Washington]
• Examining if the Canadiens’ Cup run was about the team being good or the beneficiary of some luck. [Spector’s Hockey]
• Blake Coleman and Phillip Danault are just a few free agents that could fit well with the Blue Jackets. [1st Ohio Battery]
• How Brent Sopel is helping other former hockey players after their careers end. [ESPN]
• This was a season to forget for both the Flyers and Stars. [NBC Sports Edge]
• A touching Pekka Rinne memory from a Predators fan. [On the Forecheck]
• Vancouver’s AHL affiliate will be known as the Abbotsford Canucks and will use the Johnny Canuck logo. [The Daily Hive]
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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