Sammi’s Daily: Capitals To-Do List, Cassidy Talks Bruins Firing

As the Washington Capitals ponder their summer to-do list, the NHL is already seeing the offseason take off with the Stanley Cup Playoffs still in full swing. The coaching carousel continues to spin and free agents are pondering their next steps. All the while, the rumor mill is churning again as trade rumblings continue across the league.

Here are all the latest news and notes from D.C. and around the NHL:

Capitals Links

• With Washington needing depth up front, they should keep an eye on Jesse Puljujarvi, whose Oilers future remains in flux following inconsistency and a rough go-of-it with the organization. Here’s more on Puljujarvi and why the Finn and Capitals may be a good match.
• Another item on Washington’s summer checklist: a No. 1 goaltender. There are multiple directions the Capitals could go in, including the trade route, which has some solid options between the pipes.
• And of course, there’s also the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft to worry about. And, at No. 20, Washington could look into Steelheads forward Owen Beck. Here’s more on the top draft prospect and what he can bring to the table.
• Looking back at more Stanley Cup history, the Keeper of the Cup joined NBC Sports Washington to discuss Alex Ovechkin and his… well, historically epic celebration with Lord Stanley.

NHL Links

• At the end of the season, Bruce Cassidy said that he left his exit meeting with Bruins GM Don Sweeney sure that his job was safe and that he would return to Boston for 2022-23. He turned out to be wrong and was fired earlier this week. Boston Hockey Now has everything to know from the ex-Bruins coach’s Thursday media availability, where he broke down the entire timeline, his next steps and much more.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to have taken control back in the Eastern Conference FInal against the New York Rangers going into Game 5. Here’s a closer look at the Kucherov-Stamkos-Palat line that has powered that rally and how the trio can lead the Bolts to their third consecutive Stanley Cup FInal appearance.
• Former Avalanche forward Matt Calvert is a player agent now, but he’s still rooting for his former club on the ice. He opened up about Colorado’s run to the Cup Final while reflecting on his career and more in an exclusive Colorado Hockey Now interview.
• Evander Kane paid tribute to the Edmonton fanbase and revealed that he’s unsure of where he’ll play next year.

Sammi’s Top-Shelf Takes

• The amazing @animalsofhockey Tweeted pure gold on the Capitals Cup anniversary, having their non-hockey sister guess the players’ names. “Woah, Dominic” is up there. Zach Fucale also got a laugh out of the Hershey Bears edition, as his guessed name was “Liam.”

My sister (who doesn’t watch hockey) guesses player names, Washington Capitals edition pic.twitter.com/3d8S1HQ6aU

— Hockey Players With Animals (And Other Chaos) (@animalsofhockey) June 8, 2022

• Conor Sheary turned 30 yesterday. He has arguably been one of the top free-agent pickups for D.C. over the last couple of years, as he finished with 19 goals and 24 assists through 71 games this season and proved to have great versatility at both ends of the ice.
• Heading into 2022-23, I’d personally like to see Lucas Johansen make the NHL jump and see Trevor van Riemsdyk switch back to his natural right side and take over for Justin Schultz. Washington needs cap space to work with going into next year, and though we didn’t get a huge sample size from Johansen at the NHL level, the 2016 first-rounder has put in the work to finally move up.
• And speaking of pending UFA defensemen, shoutout to Michal Kempny, who won bronze at the IIHF World Championships with Czechia.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michal Kempny (@michalkempny)