LAS VEGAS — There was Celine Dion — yes, the Celine Dion — on the podium representing the Canadiens and announcing their fifth-overall pick, Ivan Demidov.
This was not your grandaddy’s NHL draft.
There were bells, there were whistles, there was glitter and all that jazz at The Sphere, which, as Gary Bettman noted, was host of the “most dazzling [draft] yet.”
But it also unfortunately represented the final centralized NHL draft after nearly five decades of the league convening in a selected location in late June. Next year the NHL will move to a remote draft that will be conducted in similar fashion to the NFL and NBA.
This is a function of cost and also of the condensed calendar in which free agency will follow Saturday’s conclusion of the draft by only two days. The new way presumably be more effective but there is going to be something lost when the kaleidoscope of NHL management personnel no longer convene on the draft floor.
This was a night of theatrics on which Jim Dolan’s crew put on a stunning show. That would be The Sphere’s creative crew not and necessarily the hockey crew. That will have to wait until the free agent market opens on Monday after GM Chris Drury’s effort to move up from No. 30 overall never gained traction.
And until Jacob Trouba’s no-move transforms to a 15-team no-trade clause, also on Monday, as momentum continues to build for the defenseman’s exit from New York after five seasons.
Indeed, a well-placed source has told The Post that GM Chris Drury is working on a deal to send the captain to the Red Wings, a trade that the Michigan native would presumably accept after having played as a freshman for the Wolverines in 2012-13.
We are told the Rangers may retain $2.5 million per year on the two remaining seasons of Trouba’s $8M annual cap charge. That represents 31.25 percent retention that would also be applied to the $12M in salary Trouba has coming over the next two seasons.
If that does become the amount of retention if this deal goes through, that would clear an additional $5.5M in space … but the Blueshirts would have to then find a reasonable replacement for the most physical and menacing player on the team who held down a spot on their first penalty-kill unit.
They would also have to deal with vacating the captaincy only two seasons after Trouba was appointed to the post.
The Rangers and Red Wings appear to be vying for the services of Patrick Kane, who will become available as a free agent on Monday if he does not sign an extension with Detroit. The Post has reported that Drury and the hierarchy are targeting Kane for a Broadway reprise.
But Drury and Detroit GM Steve Yzerman might also be vying to sign Steven Stamkos, who will the free agent market after the 34-year-old rejected Tampa Bay’s final offer that was believed $24M over eight seasons.
If the Blueshirts are indeed able to clear that additional $5.5M on a Trouba trade, they would have nearly $21.1M in space to fill a shadow roster than features nine forwards, three defensemen (not including impending restricted free agents Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider) and two goaltenders.
Though it seems as if the Rangers would be flush, the crush is coming in 2025-26 when Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller will be operating under new contracts. Not so fast with funny-money free agent offers.
Stamkos is 34. He does not qualify for a one-year, bonus-laden deal as would Kane, who will turn 36 in October. It is difficult to imagine why Stamkos would take less to come to New York than to go to Detroit or any other port, but Drury will certainly make the pitch. It is also believed that Kane prefers a two- or three-year deal as opposed to a second consecutive one-year contract.
Theatrics that were in air here on Friday escaped the Rangers, who were foiled in their attempt to trade up from 30th overall, instead selecting right handed defenseman EJ Emery out of the US Development Program.
Don’t fret, though. Just wait a couple of days.
Jack! Rose!
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