Skip to main content

Top Line: Subban, Reimer file for arbitration; more Sunday reads

An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:

• The NHLPA revealed that 20 players filed for salary arbitration ahead of Saturday's deadline, including P.K. Subban, James Reimer and Chris Kreider. Expect to see most of them settle before their cases are heard, but there's always a chance for some real acrimony to develop if it gets to that third-party stage. A reminder: teams have until 5 PM today to take players to arbitration if they choose.

• John Tortorella and Martin St. Louis headline this list of the top-five controversies of the 2013-14 season.

• Fluto Shinzawa looks at how free agency changed the landscape in the Western Conference, how Jarome Iginla's defection will really hurt the Bruins and a new rule proposal that might lead to more diving in his excellent Sunday column.

• Will Iginla follow in the footsteps of Ray Bourque and win a Stanley Cup in Colorado after departing Boston?

Stars GM Jim Nill says doing nothing to improve his defense this summer is all part of his plan. At this point, maybe we should just listen to the man.

• I'm no doctor, but I can tell when someone's mitts are sick. Check out Jonathan Drouin in action at prospect camp.

• It's inevitable that the NHL's expansion into the Sunshine State will produce a Florida born-and-trained prospect. Goalie Clay Witt, currently skating with the Lightning, could be that player.

• For a couple of kids just a week removed from being drafted, an NHL prospect camp is an experience in total culture shock.

• The Red Wings failed to bolster their defense through free agency, forcing them to pursue help via the trade route. If Tyler Myers is the answer, what would it take to acquire the Buffalo behemoth?

• Larry Brooks says the burden of proof falls firmly on Michael Del Zotto now that the 24-year-old sits without a job while other, demonstrably less talented defensemen are being snapped up in free agency. He's clearly the most talented blueliner still on the shelf, but he needs to prove he's more than just a collection of tools if he wants to get his career turned around.

• Hey, kids! Be like Milan Lucic and remember to brush your teeth!

• Carolina owner Peter Karmanos gave hockey fans a grin the other day when he suggested the Hurricanes are a very good hockey team. It came off as the sort of off-season braggadocio you'd expect from a guy in his spot...but could he actually be right?

• Stan Fischler looks back at how a butt-end delivered to the head of Gordie Howe in 1950 instigated one of the most intense blood feuds in NHL history. Nice bit of hockey history here from the Maven.

• This is kinda awesome: a map showing every hockey rink in the world.

• Didn't take long for the Ryan Miller signing to ignite a goalie problem in Vancouver. Top prospect Jacob Markstrom, acquired in the Roberto Luongo trade last season has demanded a trade from the Canucks.