- Craig Morgan of FOX Sports Arizona: Brandon Gormley’s one-year, two-way, $850,000 deal with the Coyotes is now official.
“It’s the biggest summer of his professional life,” assistant coach Jim Playfair said. “If he is dedicating himself to four-hour work days this summer, we have all the resources to help him become the player we think he can be, and we’ll be a better team because we have a good young defenseman.
“If he comes in with a lackadaisical approach, thinking ‘I’ll make this team because I was a high draft pick,’ then we’ll have a problem.”
The 2010 first round pick is closing in on the end of the rope for the Coyotes.
“He’s at a stage where it’s either fish or cut bait, to be honest,” general manager Don Maloney said last week. “The good thing is, we have roster room available for him to get the job if he earns it.”
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Five questions for the Oilers and their fans to think about at training camp nears.
1. Will captain Andrew Ference, now most likely a third-pairing defenceman, decide it’s in the team’s best interest to have a younger player who gets more ice-time wear the C?
2. Why is Nugent-Hopkins, entering his fifth NHL season, taking a back seat to McDavid?
3. Nail Yakupov has the speed to play with Hall and the rookie McDavid, but does that line need somebody with more defensive savvy?
4. What happens if Darnell Nurse, who has a two-way contract ($925,000 base salary if he plays in the NHL and $70,000 if he plays in the American Hockey League), clearly beats out Nikita Nikitin, who has a one-way $4.5 million salary?
5. Is it a given that Ben Scrivens and Cam Talbot will be the Oilers’ goalies this season?