NHL lockout Day 13

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/09/2012 (5063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Juniors good

On the other side of this labour impasse, whenever that is, the Winnipeg Jets have kept the door open to a recall of 2011 first-round draft pick Mark Scheifele of the OHL’s Barrie Colts. CHL commissioner David Branch said some weeks ago that elite, signed junior-eligible picks will have an avenue to join NHL teams once the season begins. Teams were asked to submit a limited number of names of players they might recall, and the Jets included only Scheifele’s.

Unhelpful things

There are numerous reports from both sides of the equation when it comes to the lockout. One of the dumbest seen so far is from a prospect who has played exactly ZERO games in the NHL. From the Twitter account of Joe Morrow, a late first-round pick of the Penguins in 2011: “Bettman should be the commissioner of a different sport like knitting. What a joke. #stop ruining hockey.” The only sensible thing about this opinion is that it was removed from Morrow’s Twitter page shortly after it was posted.

Ouch, my thumb

There’s a Nail in the wrong spot. First-overall draft pick Nail Yakupov of the Edmonton Oilers tweeted Wednesday that he believes he’ll be “legal” to be playing in the KHL by the weekend, despite the fact he did not have a proper transfer card to join Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik. He has already played two games for the team, even though the Oilers have assigned him to the OHL’s Sarnia Sting for the duration of the lockout. It will be fascinating to see if the KHL will trash its letter of understanding with the NHL — there is no formal transfer agreement — over honouring contracts in this particular case.

On the move

Locked-out NHL player transaction news:

— Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson, who won last season’s Norris Trophy on his offensive ability, has signed a month-to-month deal with Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League, confirmed.

— Vancouver twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin confirmed this week they are not heading to the Swedish Elite League, at least until the time the NHL season is cancelled.

— Winnipeg-born Alex Steen of the St. Louis Blues is the first official lockout player signed in Sweden, with MoDo.

— Tim Campbell