Nash Daily: NHL Back In Atlanta?, Tatar’s Fit With Avalanche

ESPN reported on Tuesday that the NHL is open to trying an expansion team in Atlanta for the third time.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated there’s optimism an NHL team could now work in Atlanta, citing more favorable expansion draft rules and a shift in the market since the last time the city had a team more than a decade ago.

Atlanta previously had two expansion teams: the Flames, who lasted just eight seasons before moving to Calgary in 1980, and the Thrashers, who stuck around for 12 years before moving to Winnipeg and becoming the Jets in 2011.

Nashville Predators: In case you missed it

It takes a lot to intimidate a player like Ryan Reaves, but former Nashville Predators forward Brian McGrattan did just that. Reaves recently admitted McGrattan was the one player that he actually feared fighting against.

The Athletic polled its Central Division writers to determine how the division will shake out in 2023. The scribes believe the Dallas Stars will finish in first place again, just ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, while they have the Predators finishing in fifth place.

Around the NHL and National Hockey Now

Colorado Hockey Now: How does newly signed forward Tomas Tatar fit with the Avalanche? One Eastern Conference scout gives his opinion. (CHN+)

Montreal Hockey Now: Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has grown his reputation as a fighter, and he’s OK with that putting a bit of a target on his back.

NYI Hockey Now: Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters on Tuesday that he’s hopeful that whatever plagued NY’s 30th-ranked power play last season won’t be an issue in 2023.

Vegas Hockey Now: The Golden Knights signed Maxime Comtois, a 24-year-old forward and former second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, to a PTO on Tuesday.

The Athletic: Although Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman are still indefinitely suspended from the NHL, both spoke to the league’s GMs and coaches at the league meetings on Tuesday to discuss what they learned after the fallout of the Kyle Beach scandal.

NHL.com: Former Predators forward Tanner Jeannot reflects on how he found out he was being traded to Tampa and his personal expectations after signing a two-year, $2.665 million extension with the club.