Free agent frenzy
Rankin Inlet is known as Hockey Town across Nunavut and that’s for good reason.
The community eats, sleeps and drinks hockey during the winter months, and there’s no shortage of opinions on which NHL teams have done the best job yet when it comes to signing free agents.
Darrin Nichol said he was sorry to see the Winnipeg Jets lose a couple of players he thought they could keep. He said he would have liked to see the Jets hold on to Sean Monahan, especially, but it can sometimes be tough to keep players in Winnipeg.
“Overall, I’m disappointed,” said Nichol. “But I think the whole thing about players not wanting to go there (Winnipeg) is more a product of the media. I think you guys might make that up more than it being a fact. I’m not sure it’s a big a deal as we sometimes make it out to be.
“The Leafs have made a couple of good moves. We’ll see how they play out.”
Pujjuut Kusugak sees the Nashville Predators as the big winners so far, having signed star forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, along with defenceman Brady Skjei.
When it comes to his beloved Habs, Kusugak said it isn’t their time just yet.
“The rebuild is continuing,” he said. “They have some good young talent in place, but we’re still a couple of years away and have to stay with the long-term plan. I think the key now is to be patient and let the team do its job.”
Kyle Tattuinee also sees the Predators as the big winners this year.
“Nashville definitely made the biggest splash,” said Tattuinee. “The Leafs also made some solid moves, upgrading both the defence and goaltending.”
Noel Kaludjak thinks the Chicago Blackhawks have really improved themselves, and he’s still hoping his Leafs have a few more moves up their sleeve.
“I still think we need better defence,” said Kaludjak. “And we still need a good goalie.”
And it’s still only July!
story text created on Friday 7/5/2024 at 1:12:19 pm by automated process
story text modified on Monday 7/8/2024 at 9:57:45 am by Russ Carr
Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News
