Devils forward Michael McLeod charged with sexual assault, lawyers say

Edit: He’s pleading non guilty.

Sure, but we aren't in the room.
When we are in it (hypothetically) then there's a mofo-problem amongst "teammates" - not good...

I think bc Comtois wasn't signed as an RFA by the Docks and with HC going on, I don't think any teams were willing to take the chance on him and look foolish... I do expect him to sign with a team soon though as TO needs a guy like him as depth

Chicago should be all over this guy. He was a former 1st round pick and would thrive there. Someone who would stand up for Bedard too.

Comtois isn't a very good NHLer. Saw him in person last year and he was the worst player I think I've ever seen in person in the NHL lol.

He may produce in the AHL, similarly so does Kieffer Bellows. Neither are NHLers.

Fair too

Flames say they had no knowledge of the pending charges against Dube when they released the statement about his leave of absence being mental health related.

That makes them either liars or stupid/incompetent...

They likely knew about investigation…but not the charges. And if a player asks for mental health leave, it should be granted.

I think the criticism of Flames on this is unwarranted.

If anything it should be on Dube and his agent.

This.

It's dangerous to question a person's mental health and make assumptions that they are being dubious in their claims.
You have to accept it at face value and allow them to seek treatment.

He isn't necessarily misrepresenting himself.
You can have mental health issues and legal issues at the same time, likely related given the timing.

Agree with this, the player is responsible for "requesting the leave" and submitting his reasons; the team is bound by the CBA to either grant it or deny it and face possible legal ramifications as his employer.

If an employee at my company submits a leave request; they don't have to provide details (it's not our business) unless they are asking for specific assistance.

You can't allow for "Mental Health Leave" or any Leave and then say the answers should be publicly stated.

I'm sure the Flames had their suspicions and possibly even some knowledge of the investigation and were more than happy to grant his leave when it was requested; but they can't make up his reasons for him.

For all we know he was ready to harm himself if he wasn't granted the leave away from the team.

All of the vitriol for this infesting the NHL is on Hockey Canada for covering it up years ago and on the perpetrators.

Fresh trade bait list from tsn:
Tsn trade bait

Surprising that Savard isn't on here. Figured he'd be on the market.

Exactly this

Every time Chris Tanev comes up as being the answer to 4 teams problem, I just keep wondering where is Montreal and David Savard; honestly he's a Stanley Cup winner, a lower cap hit than Tanev, a year younger, signed for next year too, a top pair guy on some teams and a playoff-type player through-and-through. Montreal has a plethora of young defenseman that need ice time too.

I'm sure he'd be moved for the right price, but I don't think that price will be offered this year. We aren't moving him for a middling return because he still has value to us and teams aren't going to offer a prime asset for him (1st or equivalent).

I mean wouldn't they? Imagine we retained 50% on him. 1.75m for 2 playoff runs, He's proven capable of playing top 4 on a SCF team. That has to be worth a boatload of assets.

Very strange that they add two teams 1st round picks to this list.

Wouldn't it be assumed that buyers picks are available?
Or are EDM/VAN willing to take packages of lesser futures for those picks?

A separate, corresponding list of picks and prospects available from buyers would be a VERY interesting list.

A lot of teams went heavy last season and cap is still tight.
Retention helps but also raises the price to acquire.
It's still possible he is moved, he's just not considered "trade bait" because the likelihood is low.

I’m sad to see Buchnevich make the list.

Imma die on my bullish blues hill and think they should be buying. Entirely too many long term contracts with clauses to not try to be competitive. But buchy will land a decent return so I’ll be happy with whatever happens.

And it would be the Habs 3rd and final retention spot for this season and use up 2/3 of next year's so there is value in that limited asset too.

I'd much rather be at 3/3 as a rebuilding team than 0/3. Means my GM is trying to maximize assets. Would likely have to be done after Monahan is traded though because his trade is more important right now.

I don't buy for one second they didn't know about the charges. And if they didn't, they probably should have been able to put two and two together - and that's not to say he shouldn't have been granted leave, but think it through before you release the statement. Like I said, either liars or stupid.

Some observations from The Athletic's annual player poll

-Connor McDavid remains the league's best player by a large margin
-Only 10 players have received votes for the league's best player
-Andrei Vasilevskiy remains the league's best goalie by a large margin
-Carey Price received a vote for the league's best goalie
-Aleksander Barkov is the most common answer for the most underrated player (weird choices include Tyler Myers, Erik Gudbranson)
-Trevor Zegras is the most overrated, closely followed by Darnell Nurse , Matthew Tkachuk, Jason Robertson (weird choices include Trevor Carrick who hasn't played an NHL game since 2019-20, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen)
-Blackhawks have the best jersey
-Vegas, New York and Montréal are the best 3 road cities to play in
-Winnipeg is the worst city to play in by a HUGE margin

Friedman reporting that there is some traction between the Nucks and Flames surrounding Lindholm. I love the fit, he would be a fantastic 2C for the Nucks. Plus, he's Swedish

Blah blah..."Linespeople"
good grief

My guess is Kuzmenko, Podkolzin/Hoglander (one or the other), 2nd round pick, 3rd round pick