In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Boston Bruins have claimed a player off waivers, there is some concern that perhaps Leon Draisaitl is dealing with something and there is news on how serious Auston Matthews injury might be. Finally, the NHL has taken notice of a new digital collectibles craze. Will they get involved?
Bruins Claim Tinordi
The Bruins figured they could use a little help on their blue line after allowing 13 goals in the span of two games against the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. As such, the team has claimed veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi off waivers from the Nashville Predators.
Speculation was the Predators figured they could slip Tinordi through waivers and while he has no points on the season, the former first-round pick has averaged 16 minutes of ice time per game in 2020-21. That was enough for the Bruins to snag the 29-year-old.
Something Wrong With Draisaitl?
During the Saturday broadcast of the Oilers versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, Elliotte Friedman noted that he thinks there might be something hampering Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. Noting he played a lot fewer minutes than he typically does, Draisaitl’s production has been down a touch in the past couple of games.
Ryan Rishaug of TSN tweeted during yesterday’s game, “Draisaitl sitting at 13:14 of ice time. He’s been missing some practices, and getting extra days off recently. Pretty clear he’s bothered by something right now, his usual explosiveness not quite there.”
It’s going to be something the Oilers will want to watch but Draisaitl did play only 17:19 in Saturday’s game. He typically plays around five minutes more than that. The Oilers have had a few minor injuries this season, but have escaped the campaign without any major absences from their top players.
Related: NHL Rumors: Canucks, Red Wings, Sabres, Maple Leafs, More
Matthews Injury Not Long-Term
Chris Johnston noted that Matthews nagging wrist injury is not a huge concern and the Maple Leafs kept him out of the lineup Saturday as a precautionary, more situational thing. He could have played and Johnston noted, had this been a game that meant more and the Maple Leafs weren’t in first place in the division, he might have played.
That’s good news for Leafs Nation and it didn’t seem to hamper the Leafs on Saturday as they out-player the Oilers and won 4-0.
What Is NBA Top Shot and Why Is the NHL Taking Notice?
During Saturday’s Headlines report, Friedman noted the NHL has taken notice of NBA Top Shot. For those unfamiliar with the digital collecting platform, it’s a virtual way to collect “Moments” of NBA players and the NBA has partnered up with the online service to offer video highlights that can be found for free online, but are being repackaged in limited runs that collectors who use crypto currency love.
Players and investors have really gotten involved and hundreds of millions of dollars has been made in the space over the past few months. The NHL wants to dip into the market and take their piece if something similar can be done with NHL highlights and collectors will help the initiative explode. This is especially important with the league and its owners having taken big losses in the face of COVID-19.
The craze has gotten so popular that there are waiting lines of more than 200,000 collectors just to buy packs of these digital cards through the website and then the moments are being flipped for huge profits on the NBA Top Shot marketplace.
The system does use block chain technology and crypto currency so it could require a little research to get involved. Essentially, this is card collecting done online and it’s tough to know if this is a fad or the way sports collectibles will be moving.
