FHN Today: NHL training camps open, Eichel stripped of captaincy

At this time last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning were winning its first Stanley Cup since the Torts Era in an empty arena in Edmonton. We didn’t know when the NHL would be coming back. Well, this year, things are much different as teams around the NHL held their first workouts of training camp.

The Lightning are still the NHL’s reigning champs so, not that much has changed.

The Panthers, who saw their successful 2021 season come to an end at the hands of the Lightning, were one of those teams as Coach Q put two teams through practices at FLA Live Arena.

I guess some things have changed in a year.

Get daily coverage of the Panthers from rookie camp to the playoffs with a subscription to Florida Hockey Now

Sam Reinhart practiced with his new team in South Florida while the drama continues to swirl with his old team up in Buffalo.

Jack Eichel failed his physical as his feud with the Sabres continues, the team taking away his captaincy.

The first day is over. We now have around three weeks until the regular season begins.

FLORIDA PANTHERS LINKS

Defenseman Noah Juulsen has not played in a lot of hockey games the past couple of seasons due to injuries, but he says he is healthy and ready to fight for what appears to be one of the few roster spots on the Florida Panthers. (FloridaHockeyNow)

— Speaking of being healthy, here’s Aaron Ekblad talking about his rehab and how much it sucked not being able to help his Panthers late last season. (FHN)

— Joel Quenneville ran out some familiar — and expected — lines when the Panthers hit the ice on Thursday as the fully-vaccinated Cats opened up camp in Sunrise. (FHN)

— Coach Q has a good problem on his hands: Too many options. (Miami Herald)

— Sasha Barkov doesn’t have a new contract extension yet but no one is panicking. (FHN)

— You can’t tell the players without a program, so here are the numbers Florida’s new players will be wearing this upcoming season. And, just for fun, we chose the former Panther who wore that number best. (FHN)

— Yes, expectations for the Panthers are very high. (AP)

AROUND THE NHL

The mess in Buffalo continues as the Sabres placed Eichel on injured reserve for failing his physical and then stripped him of the captaincy.

Eichel hasn’t played since March becuase of a herniated disk in his neck in March. He wants out of Buffalo. The Sabres are on the wrong side of this writes John Vogl. (The Athletic)

— Not sure Eichel ever plays for the Sabres again but will he be out of town before the season starts? Sounds like Kevyn Adams’ price tag for his now-former captain remains extremely high. (FHN)

— Evander Kane was cleared of the gambling allegations his wife made public, but this saga is not over and he won’t be in Sharks’ camp. (SanJoseHockeyNow)

— Ranking each team in the east when it comes to how bizarre their offseason was. The Panthers did OK here for a change. (TA)

— Kirill Kapizov was on South Beach but it wasn’t because he was being recruited by the Panthers. (TA)

— The Penguins are “up against it” with two of their biggest stars out for the time being. (PittsburghHockeyNow)

— Brian Boyle says he still has some game left. (PHN)

— Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk and coach Bruce Cassidy seem to be cool with each other. (BHN)

— Nicklas Backstrom will miss camp with the Washington Capitals.(WashingtonHockeyNow)

— The Detroit Red Wings will be miss some key players during camp as well. (DetroitHockeyNow)

— Could Colorado have that hunger that shorter-than-expected playoff runs bring? (ColoradoHockeyNow)