News and notes: William Lagesson signs in Carolina, Connor McDavid endorses Jack Campbell and more
By Zach Laing
1 year agoFormer Edmonton Oilers prospect William Lagesson has a new home.
The 26-year-old, who the Oilers traded to the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline last year in the Brett Kulak deal, inked a one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 at the NHL level, and $275,000 at the AHL level.
“Lagesson provides a strong, physical presence on the blue line,” said Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell. “He has plenty of NHL and AHL games under his belt and adds to the experience of our defensive unit.”
The Oilers drafted Lagesson in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, he appeared in 57 games with Edmonton over three years scoring six assists.
Lagesson’s agent, Allan Walsh, put former Oilers coach Dave Tippett on blast publically last December. Walsh accused Tippett of not telling Lagesson to skate with the scratches, then just before the game that he wouldn’t be playing.
“It’s the kind of disrespect from a coach that destroys teams,” Walsh said. “William Lagesson has done everything asked of him by the organization.
“Players get scratched and have no issues with that. All we ask is to be treated with respect and Dave Tippett has shown he doesn’t care to do that with his players.”
McDavid loves Soup
Connor McDavid threw his support behind new goaltender Jack Campbell on Monday.
Down at the Zach Hyman Celebrity Classic at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto, the Oilers captain took some time to talk to the media.
“For sure. I mean, if you can be the starting goalie for the Leafs you can be the starting goalie anywhere,” said McDavid, via NHL.com. “Obviously, this is the hockey hotbed and there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on whoever fills that net. He’s occupied that job for the better part of two years and he’s done a great job of doing it, so I’m sure it’ll transition smoothly.
“I don’t know him a ton personally, just had a couple of conversations with him since he signed. He just seems to be a real positive guy and brings a lot of good energy.
“Obviously, his game speaks for itself. It’s taken him a lot longer than some to get to this position, but there’s no one more deserving than him. He’s put a lot into it and I’m sure he’s going to be great for us.”
Huberdeau, Weegar open to extensions in Calgary
The Calgary Flames introduced Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to the media Monday with both saying they’d be open to re-signing.
“Yeah, I’m open to signing with the Flames long-term,” Huberdeau told Flames TV’s Brendan Parker. “My job is to play hockey, coming in, getting ready for training camp and be as good of a player I can be. And after that, I kind of leave that to Allan [Walsh], my agent, and the GM.”“Yep, same here, open to signing a long-term deal,” Weegar added. “The city and the team, there’s no reason not to be open about it. So I’m looking forward to my agent talking to Brad and seeing what’s going on.”
Oilers eighth in power rankings?
Sportsnet dropped some early NHL power rankings, and the Oilers are right near the top. They come in eighth, with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche being the only teams ahead of them.
Here’s what Sportsnet wrote about the Oilers:
The crease should be in much better shape with Jack Campbell, while retaining Evander Kane and Brett Kulak were nice wins. The Oilers will be a steadier team than the one that went 16-5-0 to start last season followed by a 2-11-2 skid.
What do you think of the rankings?
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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