Training Camp Cuts: 9/25/18
Another day of camp, another day of cuts. Things are starting to get more difficult though as rosters have become much thinner over the past few days and each release and reassignment is not taken lightly. The pace of roster announcements today is noticeably slower than this past week. Yet, the cuts must be made. Follow along here for all of the camp casualties across the league today:
Note that players placed on waivers today are not included on this list. They can be found here.
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
D Kyle Capobianco (to Tuscon, AHL)
G Adin Hill (to Tuscon, AHL)
F Kevin Klima (to Tuscon, AHL)
F Jens Looke (to Tuscon, AHL)
G Hunter Miska (to Tuscon, AHL)
F Lane Pederson (to Tuscon, AHL)
Boston Bruins (per team release)
D Connor Clifton (to Providence, AHL)
F Karson Kuhlman (to Providence, AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon (to Providence, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Callum Booth (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Morgan Geekie (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Andrew Poturalski (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Dan Renouf (to Charlotte, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team Twitter update)
D Carl Dahlstrom (to Rockford, AHL)
D Joni Tuulola (to Rockford, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
F Dylan Sadowy (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Brenden Kotyk (released from PTO)
F Bryan Moore (released from PTO)
G Pat Nagle (released from PTO)
D Matt Register (released from PTO)
F Jordan Topping (released from PTO)
F Luke Kirwan (released from ATO)
Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)
D Kevin Gravel (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Keegan Lowe (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Brad Malone (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
D Michal Moravcik (to Laval, AHL)
D David Sklenicka (to Laval, AHL)
F Nick Suzuki (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Joel Ward (released from PTO)
New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)
F Joey Anderson (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Michael McLeod (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Marian Studenic (to Binghamton, AHL)
New York Islanders (per team Twitter update)
F Steve Bernier (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Christopher Gibson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Seth Helgeson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Mike Sislo (to Bridgeport, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)
F Nicholas Aube-Kubel (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Philippe Myers (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal)
F Reid Boucher (to Utica, AHL)
D Ashton Sautner (to Utica, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)
G Maxime Lagace (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stefan Matteau (to Chicago, AHL)
D Griffin Reinhart (to Chicago, AHL)
F T.J. Tynan (to Chicago, AHL)
F Cody Glass (to Portland, WHL)
Martin Frk Returns To Practice; Danny DeKeyser And Jonathan Ericsson To Miss Two Preseason Games
- Winger Martin Frk returned to practice for the first time since straining an oblique muscle at the beginning of training camp, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. He’s coming off of a career year after putting up 25 points in 68 games for the Red Wings last season and was eventually rewarded with a $1.05MM contract for the upcoming season but his spot on the roster isn’t exactly guaranteed with several youngsters pushing for spots. Meanwhile, defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Danny DeKeyser will miss at least the next two games with what head coach Jeff Blashill is calling “minor tweaks”.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/24/18
Another day, another two or three dozen cuts on the way. As training camp and the NHL preseason continues on, teams work to pare down their rosters in anticipation of Opening Night. Keep track of all the releases and reassignments right here:
Note that players placed on waivers today are not included on this list. They can be found here.
Anaheim Ducks (per team release)
F Giovanni Fiore (to San Diego, AHL)
F Mitch Hults (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
G Angus Redmond (to San Diego, AHL)
F Deven Sideroff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Keaton Thompson (to San Diego, AHL)
G Roman Durny (to Des Moines, USHL)
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
F Michael Bunting (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Cam Dineen (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (to Tuscon, AHL)
Boston Bruins (per team release)
D Axel Andersson (to Djurgarden, SEL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
D Emil Johansson (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
G Joe Cannata (to Colorado, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Vitaly Abramov (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Brady Austin (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Paul Bittner (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Garret Cockerill (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ryan Collins (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Dan DeSalvo (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Maxime Fortier (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brett Gallant (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Nikita Korostelev (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Miles Koules (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Ryan MacInnis (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Joseph Raaymakers (released from ATO; to London, OHL)
F Justin Scott (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kole Sherwood (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Blake Siebenaler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Doyle Somerby (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Brad Thiessen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Calvin Thurkauf (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Trent Vogelhuber (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Justin Wade (to Cleveland, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
F Joe Veleno (to Drummondville, QMJHL)
Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)
F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Scottie Upshall (released from PTO)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
G Sam Montembeault (to Springfield, AHL)
D Riley Stillman (to Springfield, AHL)
F Owen Tippett (to Mississauga, OHL)
F Mark Letestu (released from PTO)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release)
G Peter Budaj (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (loaned to Frolunda, SHL)
Nashville Predators (per team release)
F Connor Brickley (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Jarred Tinordi (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)
F Kurtis Gabriel (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Blake Pietila (to Binghamton, AHL)
D John Ramage (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Brian Strait (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Eric Tangradi (to Binghamton, AHL)
New York Islanders (per team release)
D Sebastian Aho (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Kieffer Bellows (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Josh Ho-Sang (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jeremy Smith (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Noah Dobson (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
St. Louis Blues (per team release)
D Chris Butler (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Klim Kostin (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Adam Musil (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
D Jalen Chatfield (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonathan Dahlen (to Utica, AHL)
F Petrus Palmu (to Utica, AHL)
Eastern Notes: Green, Murray, Neuvirth, Schneider, Ferland
The Detroit Red Wings have been without defenseman Mike Green since the Traverse City portion of training camp ended when Green complained of fatigue. However, the worst of it is behind him, according to Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland, who says that according to a infectious disease specialist, Green is “on the backside” of a viral infection, according to Detroit Free-Press’ Helene St. James.
While there is no firm timetable of a return, the team is preparing for the upcoming regular season without Green’s availability.
“Once he feels better, we’ll gradually start to push him a little bit and if his body doesn’t respond, we’ll back off and wait a few more days,” said Holland. “It’s sort of like concussion protocol – slowly see how a player responds. We have no time frame for when he will rejoin the team.”
The team will likely keep two of their four defensive prospects to open up the season for Detroit in Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak. The Athletic’s Max Bultman (subscription required) handicapped each of the four blueliners chances of making the team.
- Injuries continue to plague Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been out since Tuesday after getting kicked in between the legs in their preseason games against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline confirms it’s not a back injury, which has been an issue with him in the past, but a groin problem. He suffered a soft-tissue groin injury and could be out between a couple to a few weeks.
- It doesn’t look like Philadelphia Flyers backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth will be ready for the regular season opener after injuring his groin on Friday, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. That likely means that the Flyers will start the season with Anthony Stolarz as the team’s backup to Brian Elliott, although Carchidi suggests that 20-year-old phenom Carter Hart is making a strong bid for the opening night roster. “There haven’t been many huge peaks or valleys in his play, and that’s a good place to start when you’re battling for an NHL job,” head coach Dave Hakstol said about the 20-year-old.
- The Athletic’s Corey Masisak reports that New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider expects to go to Europe with the team for a preseason game in Bern, Switzerland, on Oct. 1. “We’ll see where it goes from there,” Schneider said. The 32-year-old goaltender, who is recovering from hip surgery practiced with the team’s second unit today and stayed on the ice for extra drills with Keith Kinkaid.
- Michael Smith of NHL.com reports that Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland is dealing with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour said he will hold Ferland out of the lineup for the rest of preseason.
Central Notes: MacKinnon, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Honka
The Colorado Avalanche had a phenomenal turnaround season last year after many years where the team was considered among the bottom-fodder of the league. Yet in one year, the team now looks like an ever-improving playoff team that is definitely heading in the right direction. The team also has one more thing going for them — that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who in one year also has established himself into one of the top players in the league after posting 39 goals and 97 points last season. The 23-year-old is also, fortunately for the team, locked up for five more years at a very reasonable $6.3MM AAV.
In fact, the young superstar told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that the money isn’t an issue for him even though he could make a salary much closer to that of Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid‘s $12.5MM contract if he was a free agent right now.
“If I was up, I would ask for more than what I’m getting now,” MacKinnon told The Denver Post. “I think you want to get paid what you’re worth. And at the time, I thought I was paid what I was worth. But I’m trying to get better every day and money is the last thing on my mind. It really is. I just want the respect of my teammates, respect from my peers and to reach my own expectations.”
Regardless of MacKinnon’s lack of worry about being paid as a top player, he can’t negotiate a new contract until July 1, 2022, when he’ll be 28 years, so he could be even better then.
- The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield feels that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henry Jokiharju has already made the team and feels it isn’t too early to declare that fact. The 19-year-old first-rounder in 2017 has impressed in camp and has been among the top seven defenseman in camp. On top of that with injuries to Connor Murphy and Gustav Forsling, who are both expected to be out until at least November, Jokiharju has found that opening that should slot him in with Erik Gustafsson as a third-pairing defenseman to start the season. The hope would be that he would earn the right to stay in the first month of the season and force Chicago to make a tough decision when Murphy and Gustafsson return.
- Speaking of Blackhawks’ defensive prospects, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney suggests that 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist has re-established himself as a candidate for a roster spot on the Blackhawks after an impressive performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Many people felt he would be re-assigned after the game, but head coach John Quenneville stated that Boqvist would be staying with the team – for now.
- Matthew DeFranks of SportsDay writes that only two players will have played in all three of their recent preseason games, including Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Thursday’s game against Minnesota and tonight’s game against Florida in defensemen Julius Honka and Gavin Bayreuther. While Honka is a lock to make the roster, head coach Jim Montgomery wants him to play as much as possible to increase his confidence. However, the team also wants to see as much as it can of Bayreuther, who will likely end up with the AHL Texas Stars, but could be the top defenseman to be called up, if Montgomery likes what he sees.
Mike Green Is Dealing With A Virus That Has Attacked His Liver
- The good news didn’t last too long for Red Wings defenseman Mike Green. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press notes that the blueliner is dealing with fatigue issues that have resulted in the team shutting him down for the time being. Head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Dana Wakiji of the teams’ website (Twitter link), that the cause of the fatigue is a virus that has attacked his liver. As a result, his availability for the start of the season is now in serious question. GM Ken Holland indicated that four prospects will be pushing for what now appears to be two spots on the opening roster – Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek, and Libor Sulak.
League To Investing Career-Ending Diagnosis For Henrik Zetterberg
Although the NHL believes Detroit’s classification of Henrik Zetterberg’s back injury being a career-ender is legitimate, the league plans to investigate to make sure of its validity, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). This shouldn’t be construed as concerning for the Red Wings as the same thing happened last season with Joffrey Lupul and Marian Hossa with the NHL’s independent doctor reaching the same conclusion that their respective team doctors came to.
Daly also noted that they’re satisfied that there was no side deal in place that Zetterberg didn’t intend to fulfill the final few years of his contract (which are much cheaper in terms of salary relative to his cap hit of just under $6.1MM). Interestingly enough, the veteran himself suggested last year that the final two years of the 12-year pact were added on simply to lower the AAV of the deal. Despite that, there won’t be any penalties for the Red Wings although Zetterberg won’t formally be able to retire until his contract expires to avoid any salary cap recapture.
Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.
Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.
Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:
- C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
- RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
- C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
- C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
- C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
- C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
- D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
- RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
- RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
- C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
- LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
- LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
- RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
- C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
- LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
- C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
- RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets
Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins
What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?
Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
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Pettersson 16% (204)
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Dahlin 14% (185)
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Zadina 11% (144)
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Donato 10% (127)
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Mittelstadt 7% (89)
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Heiskanen 6% (83)
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The Field - comment below 6% (79)
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Svechnikov 6% (74)
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Chytil 4% (55)
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Tkachuk 3% (45)
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Sikura 3% (37)
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Vesalainen 2% (29)
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Strome 2% (25)
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Yamamoto 2% (24)
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Tolvanen 2% (22)
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Steel 2% (22)
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Cirelli 1% (15)
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Borgstrom 1% (11)
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Abramov 1% (8)
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Necas 1% (7)
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Zykov 0% (2)
Total votes: 1,287
Training Camp Cuts: 9/16/18
With training camp fully underway, teams area already making cuts as they send players to juniors or back overseas. Here’s a rundown of today’s moves:
- The Carolina Hurricanes announce they have assigned three players back to their junior teams, including forwards Stelio Mattheos, Luke Henman and defenseman Brendan De Jong. Mattheos, the team’s third-round pick in 2018 will return to the Brandon Wheat Kings where he scored 43 goals last year in the WHL. Henman was the team’s fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and will return to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL. De Jong was a 2017 sixth-round pick, who will return to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have trimmed their training camp roster from 77 to 46 as they have sent eight players back to their junior teams, loaned one to Europe and sent another 17 to the Toronto Marlies’ training camp today, according to Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. That leaves 46 players in the Maple Leafs’ camp. The team sent Zachary Bouthillier, Filip Kral, Owen Lalonde, Ryan McGregor, Roman Pucek, Ian Scott, Riley Stotts, and Eli Zummack. The team also loaned Jesper Lindgren back to HPK of Finland’s Liiga. The team also sent Matthew Bradley, Sean Durzi, Hudson Elynuik, Giorgio Estephan, Brady Ferguson, Alex Gudbranson, Mac Hollowell, Sam Jardine, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Stefan LeBlanc, Eamon McAdam, Griffen Molino, Ryan Moore, Zach O’Brien, JJ Piccinich, Scott Pooley, Kristians Rubins to the Marlies training camp.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they cut 10 players from camp today as they now stand at 61 players. The team assigned forwards Zach Gallant and Brady Gilmour as well as defensemen Cole Fraser, Jared McIsaac, Alec Regula and Reilly Webb to their respective junior teams. The team also released forwards Pavel Gogolev, Maxim Golod and Nicolas Guay as well as goaltender Justin Fazio from their amateur tryouts.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have cut three players from the training camp roster today and returned them to their junior teams, including forward Kirill Maksimov, defenseman Dmitri Samorukov and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue. Samorukov and Maksimov were the team’s third-round and fifth-round picks, respectively in 2017, while Rodrigue was their second-rounder this year.
Snapshots: Byron, Lindback, Bettman
With the departures of Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk this summer, Paul Byron has seen his stock rise in Montreal. After breaking out with a 43-point campaign in 2016-17, Byron was again a top forward for the Canadiens last season with 35 points and a second consecutive 20-goal season. While the team’s trades have brought in the likes of Max Domi and Tomas Tatar, Byron is now one of the elder statesmen in the Habs forward corps and will be looked upon to take another step forward this year. Byron underwent off-season shoulder surgery and is focused on working his way back to full strength in training camp, with the Canadiens certainly hoping that he will be fully prepared for the regular season. One way or another, Byron’s production in 2018-19 will play a major role in Montreal’s season. Some fans see the 28-year-old impending free agent going the way of Pacioretty and being shipped out of town before he can walk next off-season. Others see him as part of the team new core moving forward. The latter philosophy gained some credence today when Sportsnet’s Eric Engels spoke with Byron. Byron stated that his agent and GM Marc Bergevin have had preliminary extension talks, although he admitted that all parties are interested in how his shoulder recovery and resulting scoring ability pan out. Byron added “I want to stay, I think they want to keep me. Hopefully we’ll get something done soon.” It seems that perhaps the Habs are moving on from trading away core pieces and could look to keep a healthy Byron around beyond this season.
- While yesterday’s signing of Anders Lindback by HC Davos of the Swiss NLA is newsworthy enough – the veteran goaltender spent last year in the AHL and has 130 NHL games to his credit – the team’s reason for signing him will also have reverberations in the NHL. Davos was a playoff team in the NLA last season behind their young tandem of Gilles Senn, 22, and Joren van Pottelberghe, 21, and with both keepers still under contract, there was some question as to why the team felt the need to bring in a third goalie of Lindback’s pedigree. Swiss news source Tages Anzeiger reports that the age and performance of those goalies is the exact reason the team decided to move forward with a new starter. Both Senn and van Pottelberghe are NHL draft picks; Senn was selected as an overage player by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of 2017, while van Pottelberghe was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round when first eligible in 2015. Given their success, Davos was unable to convince either to abandon their plan of making the jump to North America next season, after their current contracts end, to begin the next stage of their careers. Rather than be left without any experienced goalies heading into next season, Davos decided to sign Lindback to a one-year deal to see if he could instead be their long-term solution. If Lindback meets expectations this year, expect an extension sometime over the course of the season.
- Elsewhere on the international stage, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is very happy about the league’s growing relationship with China. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are currently overseas in the second O.R.G. NHL China Games, after the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks squared off last fall. Per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Bettman sees this as just the beginning and has big plans for China. In fact, Bettman stated at a press conference on Friday that he envisions regular season games in China in the future, similar to the games planned in Sweden and Finland this season. With the Chinese government and several large companies committed to building rinks and arenas across the country, it’s fair to say that hockey has already made an impact and will only continue to grow in popularity in the world’s most populous country. Bettman acknowledges that no formal talks have been had about regular season games yet, but more preseason games are being scheduled and the league only stands to benefit from a continued presence in China.