NHL Trade Talk Roundup: Ovechkin, Fleury, Flyers, Oilers

In our NHL Trade Talk morning roundup, Alex Ovechkin is receiving a ton of praise for the way he got his teammates back out on the ice to pay respect to one of the most beloved members of the NHL in the past decade. Meanwhile, news is surfacing about the more complex story behind the Philadelphia Flyers choosing to fire John Tortorella. Finally, the Edmonton Oilers had a rookie goalie take the net in an ugly loss to the Seattle Kraken.

Ovechkin Brings Teammates Back Out to Honor Fleury

After Thursday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild, Alex Ovechkin brought the Capitals back onto the ice to shake hands with Marc-André Fleury in their last matchup. These two have been rivals for over a decade, but the respect shown in that moment is garnering a lot of attention.

It was an incredibly classy move from Ovechkin, who is in the midst of chasing his own record in the NHL. To make sure the entire team shook Marc-Andre Fleury’s hand after the game is what being a good ambassador for the game is all about.

Tortorella Has Incident With Cam York

Kevin Kurz of the Athletic reports, “Told from a team source that ‘it’s fair to say’ something happened between Cam York and John Tortorella in Toronto, that contributed to the coach’s dismissal on Thursday morning.” He added, “Was put to me that “they probably both crossed the line.”

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Daniel Briere talked about his decision to let Tortorella go and said it was not just one thing that brought on the decision. Many thought it was Tortorella’s comments about now “being interested” in coaching the team, and that was part of it. It’s also clear that his blowout with York — which is being reported did not include physicality — also led to his quick dismissal.

As for York, it’s not clear what the Flyers will do with him. He was dressed at sat the entire game on Thursday night. He is a pending RFA.

Rodrigue Makes NHL Debut for the Oilers

It certainly wasn’t the way he would have hoped to debut in the NHL, but Olivier Rodrigue will remember his first NHL game nonetheless. Making his debut on Thursday night in a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken, Rodrigue turned aside seven of eight shots in the third period.

As nice as it was to see Rodrigue make his debut, the fact that he was in the net at all has fans bashing the Oilers for their lack of urgency in addressing their goaltending issues. Many still can’t believe that the Oilers’ management team didn’t think they needed to upgrade our goalie situation and chose to add puck-moving defensemen or similar forwards during free agency to the ones they already had.

Injuries and a clear lack of reading the situation could come back to bite the Oilers.

Next: Oilers Eating Jabs on Several Fronts Before Possible Knockout Blow