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News of the Colorado Avalanche - Links around the NHL - June 18th, 2013

By Sandie Gauthier

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Doug Pensinger

Talk about good timing, here is a story about Nathan MacKinnon and the similarities between himself and Sidney Crosby.

The first time Nathan MacKinnon met Sidney Crosby they were at the airport. MacKinnon was going to Florida with his family; Crosby was coming back from the school he played at in Minnesota. Crosby was 15, already famous; MacKinnon was seven or eight. He knew who Crosby was, but it was his dad who recognized him. MacKinnon still has the picture: Sidney, Nathan, and Nathan’s sister, Sarah. They were all kids.

Today MacKinnon, of Cole Harbour, N.S., could be two weeks from being the No. 1 pick in the draft, and the link between him and Crosby will be strong, even if it remains simply geographic. For some, MacKinnon will always be the other guy from that town, the prince following the king. MacKinnon is OK with it, now. He’s a huge Crosby fan, but that didn’t make it easy.

The Coyotes drama continues.

The fate of the Phoenix Coyotes is now in the hands of the (mostly) new city council of suburban Glendale.

A tentative lease agreement with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment, headed by Canadian businessmen George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc, for Jobing.com Arena will be presented to the seven-member council at its regular in-camera meeting on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the negotiations say the deal will produce something close to the $15-million (all currency U.S.) annually Renaissance was seeking, although it may not be structured strictly as an arena management fee.

The Flyers are going to need to make some changes.

Hello Mark Streit. Good-bye Ilya Bryzgalov and Danny Briere.

After agreeing to a four-year, $21-million contract with Streit, the Philadelphia Flyers are set to use their two compliance buyouts on high-priced players Bryzgalov and Briere, according to TSN.

Streit’s deal can’t be made official yet because it would push Philadelphia’s payroll $7.8 million above next season’s $64.3 million salary cap. Teams are only allowed to exceed the cap by 10% in the off-season.