Hutson Committed to USA, Bichsel’s Olympic Ban & More NHL Rumors

“I don’t know what Bill Guerin was thinking. I don’t know him; he probably obviously doesn’t know Lane…This fuels anyone, especially (someone like Lane). You never know what will happen in the future. My boys are also Canadian.”.

It is clear that Rob was expecting Lane to make the Olympic camp, but Marco D’Amico of RG.org wrote about Hutson and reported that he is still committed to Team USA.

In D’Amico’s report, he notes that Sean Coffey, Hutson’s agent, states, “There is no animosity there from Lane or his father; with both confirming this on record.”.

Hutson will remain committed to Team USA, and as previously reported, the decision to skip out on the World Championship made him the odd one out.

Bichsel Still Banned from Team Switzerland

Speaking of decisions to skip an international tournament, after being named to the 2023 World Junior Championship roster for Team Switzerland, Bischel opted to skip the tournament and focus on himself.

The executives for Team Switzerland handed a ban to Bichsel, which would last under the 2026 World Championship concluded. While the participation of the NHL in the Olympics was still a fever dream back then, it is the reality now, and as it sits today, he is still ineligible to play for Team Switzerland.

Almost every projected roster has Bichsel in the defensive group. He plays a good game, and despite being a young player, he seems to have a very bright future as a talented defenseman.

Jason Robertson Talks Continue

For a little while at the start of the offseason, Robertson’s name was everywhere. It seemed as if a trade was coming sooner rather than later, but now there are talks of an extension.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that talks are picking up now that we have hit September, and Jeff Marek has stated that the Stars will not let themselves get “Marner’d”, meaning that they won’t let him get to the point of leaving as a free agent or losing leverage in a trade scenario.

Robertson is set to become a restricted free agent next offseason, and the Stars reportedly have an interncal cap, which has been set by Mikko Rantanen. No player on the roster, Robertson included, is going to make more than Rantanen’s $12 million.

The Stars have been blessed with young talent and have done an excellent job of keeping the contracts reasonable and fitting everyone in. Part of the difficulty for the Stars’ cap situation is the impending contract extension for Thomas Harley, who will command a significant raise.