NHL Rumors: Joe Thornton, Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators, and the Nashville Predators

Thornton and Giroux on their future

David Dwork: Florida Panthers pending UFA forward Joe Thornton on what is next for him: “Really I have no plans. It’s kind of exciting that way.”

David Dwork: Claude Giroux when asked if he’d be open to returning to the Panthers if they could work out the money and term.

“Yeah, I do. Obviously there’s a lot to worry about and a decision has to be made. It’s a tough question. The season just ended. I still need time to think.”

Senators pick in play

Bruce Garrioch: Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirms again that his first-round pick, 7th overall, is available for an impact player.

On the Nashville Predators

Alex Daugherty: (thread is almost two weeks old but can still apply) take on Elliotte Friedman’s comments about Nashville Predators GM David Poile and head coach John Hynes.

“-saying he’s heard “rumors throughout the season there was something in place to bring Hynes back” and that he expects JH to return in 2022-23 doesn’t surprise me. Hynes is safe if Poile is.”

“But on that note, his surprise about “blogs and columns saying it’s time for Poile to be fired” (**) ignores the team trend in short and long run. EF just sharing his opinion, which is fine, but consider:

1. #Preds have fallen off in terms of success every yr the past 5 years.

2. There are now more costly acquisitions and more missed opportunities affecting the team’s ability to compete both now and later.

3. The gap between NSH and the top 3-4 real contenders is greater than it was in peak Lavy and peak Trotz yrs.

4. The “competitive rebuild” thing… do you think this team did either one very well? They weren’t competitive, that’s clear. They didn’t rebuild, outside of giving Tomasino a full first year. Didn’t build draft capital, prospect system.

5. I’ll conclude by sharing a line from the column I posted on Tuesday, indicating that I think fans (which btw, I do not consider myself one) are ready for change.”

“It has been reported that Poile’s contract has an “automatic renewal” at the end of each season, which is something you just don’t see often in modern sports.

It’s a setup that, for David Poile, must be pretty nice. Especially because more and more Preds fans do not seem to be automatically renewing their support of the team every year.”