On Las Vegas …
Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com: Vegas owner Bill Foley has trademarked the names Desert Hawks, Red Hawks, Nighthawks, Desert Knights, Silver Knights and Golden Knights. He has a “preferred name” that has been cleared by the league, and has another option in mind. Foley also admitted to creating fake names as a misdirection ploy.
“I have,” he said with a laugh over the phone. “I think it’s irritating a few people.”
By mid-October Foley hopes to announce what the team will be named.
The Black Knights were Foley’s first choice, but he received some pushback from it. Sand Knights was never a possibility.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Eric Engels of Sportsnet: In his “10 Bold Predictions” piece, Engels thinks the Lightning will trade goaltender Ben Bishop this season, and some of the acquiring pieces will help them win the Cup. The Lightning need to re-sign Nikita Kucherov now, and will need to give long-term contracts to pending RFAs Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat.
On the Vancouver Canucks …
Jeff Paterson: Have heard James Sheppard being linked to the Canucks on a PTO.
On the Edmonton Oilers …
Jim Matheson: If the Oilers are going to bring in a center on a PTO, Mike Richards is probably the best bet. They have been interested in him in the past.
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli on 630 CHED on Thursday on if he’s done with the right side of their blueline.
“I’ve had some discussions over the earlier part of the summer,” Chiarelli said. “They kind of quieted out a little bit, and I’ll pick those up at some point in the fall. I would say for the foreseeable future, I’m pretty much done.”