In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are all sorts of questions surrounding the news that the Dallas Stars have released head coach Jim Montgomery, the Seattle franchise appears to have a name and a logo, the Philadelphia Flyers might have a player the Montreal Canadiens are interested in and the New York Rangers need to make a decision on their goaltending.
What Happened With Montgomery?
The question on a lot of minds in Dallas and around the NHL is what happened with Jim Montgomery? No warning, no suspension, just immediate termination and comments from GM Jim Nill that, “This decision was made due to unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.”
It appears the Stars are not going to say what Montgomery did but one has to expect the news will leak eventually. All that is known at this point is that the NHL was made aware of whatever the situation was before Commissioner Gary Bettman took to talking about the NHL’s Code of Conduct Policy and that Montgomery’s situation was unrelated.
Darren Dreger added that a source told him the situation was bad enough that the Stars felt they had no choice but to immediately fire the coach. The Stars received a phone call about an incident that took place a few days earlier but Nill couldn’t divulge who that call was from. This does not have anything to do with players past or present but Nill said this reflects poorly upon himself as he called hiring Montgomery his call but that as the leadership of this team, we had to do the right thing.
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Seattle to Unveil Name of Team and Logo
It appears the new Seattle NHL franchise/team has reportedly settled on a name and logo and have officially had both approved by the NHL. Expect to hear an announcement in February or March concerning the teams branding.
On Monday, the team presented to the NHL board and the branding was approved. It’s now just a matter of presenting to the public.
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Montreal Interested in Shayne Gostisbehere?
Sportsnet has written a piece on some possible blue line options for the Montreal Canadiens and among the names mentioned are Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and Anaheim Ducks rearguard Cam Fowler. The talk on Gostisbehere has picked up some steam of late.
Gostisbehere’s stocked has dropped around the NHL over the past couple of seasons and of late, he’s been a healthy scratch from the Flyers lineup. Many are predicting a change of scenery is in order.
According to the article, other options include Calgary’s T.J. Brodie or Oliver Kylington, Pittsburgh’s Juuso Riikola, and Chicago’s Erik Gustafsson.
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Rangers Plans For Alexandar Georgiev
Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post reports New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton is not completley sure what to do about his goaltending situation in New York. Current backup Alexandar Georgiev has played very well, but is there a future with the Rangers?
With veteran Henrik Lundqvist still the starter and with Georgiev becoming waiver-eligible once he plays his 60th NHL game, there’s a lot of talk about a possible trade. Cyrgalis writes:
“There’s a lot written about who’s going to be here, and waivers and all that stuff, said Gorton. “We’re just worried about the team playing well, and let events play themselves out.” He insists Georgiev remains “a big part of our team.”
One team that might be involved with the Georgiev talks is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They badly need a backup and if the Rangers can get a good haul for their netminder, might move him if the return is right.
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