NYHN Daily: Islanders Get Date for Pelech Arbitration, Burke News & More

News has been rather hard to come by in regards to the New York Islanders. But on Thursday, some news broke as Islanders top defenseman Adam Pelech has a date for his arbitration hearing while Brendan Burke, the voice of the Islanders, seems close to a contract extension. These stories and more in today’s daily links!

Restricted free agent Adam Pelech will have a new deal soon. One way or the other. The Islanders’ top-pair defenseman had his arbitration hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, as announced by the NHL Players’ Association on Thursday. It is the first date of the hearings, which run through Aug. 26. (Newsday)

Brendan Burke is close to signing a new contract with MSG Networks to remain as the Islanders’ lead TV play-by-play man, industry sources said on Thursday. Burke’s return was no sure thing upon the expiration of the original five-year deal he signed in 2016. With Pat Foley entering his final season calling Blackhawks games — and with the plan to have Foley share the job during the transition season — Burke was offered that job but passed on it, a source said. Burke also had a prominent role for NBC on its national telecasts, and with both Turner and ESPN carrying NHL games this coming season, it is likely Burke will continue doing national work as well. (Newsday)

While it was always going to stand as something of a surprise to Boston Bruins fans that David Krejci opted to head home over one more run with the B’s next season, it clearly shouldn’t have been shocking to the team. The Black and Gold been prepared for the end of David Krejci’s contract for the last couple of years, and that was reflected in the big contract extension ($5.25M AAV) they handed Charlie Coyle two years ago. Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed on Thursday that the B’s will give Coyle the first crack at the No. 2 center position behind Patrice Bergeron, with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith most likely on his wings. (Boston Hockey Now)

Former Pittsburgh Penguins first-round pick and notoriously fragile winger Beau Bennett isn’t a shy guy. The former NHL player who built a social media following with self-deprecating humor about his injury history which derailed what could have been a productive NHL career, or a wildly successful AHL stat sheet, dished to the Cam and Strick podcast a few inside scoops on a younger Penguins team including a locker room fight with Evgeni Malkin. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Philadelphia Flyers are going to have a different roster, look, and feel to them this coming season. After a season full of blowout losses, embarrassing defeats, and too-little-too-late “comebacks,” Chuck Fletcher shook things up this offseason. Fletcher addressed the Flyers’ biggest needs on the blue line, traded away one of the longest-tenured Flyers, and gave the team a new identity. (Philly Hockey Now)

Welcome to the August edition of the FHN Florida Panthers Mailbag! With the expansion and entry drafts over and most of the free agency moves completed, we are now in the dog days of the NHL summer. At least this August feels pretty normal, right? Usually, free agency opens July 1 and by the Fourth, everyone is on vacation. This year, we went all the way through July with stuff to do but now it’s time for most of the hockey world to head to their “cottage on the lake” and kick back for a bit. Still, there is work to be done — especially when it comes to the Panthers. (Florida Hockey Now)

Summer hockey is all about evaluation and development. This is exactly the approach that Swedish world junior coach Tomas Monten is taking in assessing the talent pool available to his team. Sweden’s national junior team just got back home from the World Junior Summer Showcase. Monten will be taking almost an entirely new lineup to the upcoming Four Nations Cup in the Czech Republic. There are 18 new players on the Swedish roster who weren’t in Plymouth, Mich. for the WJSS. Among the news faces in the selections is Detroit Red Wings draft pick Liam Dower Nilsson. (Detroit Hockey Now)

Chief Marketing Officer Brian Killingsworth has left the Vegas Golden Knights organization leaving on his own terms Thursday afternoon, per a report from SinBin.com. The former CMO was vital to the early success of the Golden Knights and has been with the team since its inception in 2017. Killingsworth and his team are responsible for the “VegasBorn” slogan. They also had their part in the gold jerseys and helmets, Chance the Gila Monster as the mascot, as well as various community events and fundraisers plus so much more. (Vegas Hockey Now)