Snapshots: Sbisa, Dubinsky, Nummelin

With Nate Schmidt now out for the first 20 games of the regular season and Shea Theodore still a restricted free agent, David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal speculates (Twitter link) that the Golden Knights could turn to veteran defenseman Luca Sbisa on a PTO deal for training camp.  Vegas is certainly familiar with Sbisa as he played in 42 games (regular season and playoffs) with them last season.  The 28-year-old is one of the top defenders left on the open market and would give the team some extra competition at training camp at the very least and potentially some insurance if Theodore remains unsigned into the season.  Whether it’s Sbisa or someone else, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vegas add another defender heading into training camp.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

• While Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky struggled considerably last season, the team didn’t give any thought to buying out the remaining three years of his contract, notes George Richards of the Columbus Dispatch. The 32-year-old spent time as a healthy scratch last year and recorded a career-low 16 points, hardly the type of value they were expecting for someone carrying a $5.85MM cap hit.  Dubinsky has slimmed down over the summer and hopes that his improved speed will help him make more of an impact.  If not, the buyout talk will pick up once again over the summer.
• Former NHL blueliner Petteri Nummelin announced his retirement today at the age of 45. The ex-Blue Jacket and Wild rearguard has had quite the journey since leaving the NHL, playing in Switzerland, Finland, Norway, and Japan.  He’ll be staying in the game, however, taking on an assistant coaching role in TPS Turku’s system in Finland, his hometown team, per a report from Turun Sonomat in Finland (link in Finnish).