- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Blue Jackets will have to wait until teams strike out on Zach Parise. The Rangers weren’t thrilled with Parise saying he wasn’t interested in playing for them and annoyed with how the Nash thing is dragging out. They have talked to Anaheim about Bobby Ryan. Both the Maple Leafs and Panthers held talks with the Canucks at the draft, but both teams were unimpressed with the Canucks asking price. The Canucks want to make a hockey deal and not a salary dump, and won’t just give him away. The Red Wings, Kings, Penguins and Wild will all be after Zach Parise, but don’t count the Devils out.
“We’ll certainly do anything that can be done,” Devils GM Lou Lamoriello told ESPN.com Saturday. “It’s mutual on both sides. We have to find a way.”
Stars forward Steve Ott is getting plenty of interest. Ott may be what the Canadiens need. The Coyotes received an offer for for Keith Yandle that made them pause before rejecting it. Keep an eye on the Oilers regarding Justin Schultz. The Panthers met with Jason Garrison at the draft, but no deal. They could trade his rights in the next week. Ondrej Pavelec’s agent met with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff on Saturday. The Canucks and Cory Schneider are not close to a deal.
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Schenn-van Riemsdyk trade saved Flyers some money, but appears to shut the door on any Ryan Suter and Justin Schultz pursuit. The trade may have created a hole in their offense though. The Flyers may now have enough cap space to go after Zach Parise. The Penguins may also now have the cap room for Parise. P.A. Parenteau could be a fall back option. Bobby Ryan is also an option, but they don’t want to trade Sean Couturier, Matt Read or Brayden Schenn.
- Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Armed with salary cap space, the Penguins plan to go after Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Sources said that Sidney Crosby could soon sign a 10-13 year deal worth between $9 to $10 million per season. Any deals made with Suter and Parise would be made with the keeping Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal and Kris Letang together. The Pens are aggressively shopping Paul Martin and his 3 years, $15 million contract. The Pens currently sit $15 million under the projected $70 million cap. The Penguins could offer a low pick to the Predators for Suter’s rights.
- Kevin Schultz of the Islanders Point Blank: Reports from a Slovak website that recently acquired Lubomir Visnovsky may play in Slovakia or the KHL instead of with the NY Islanders. He has offers from both leagues. The Islanders sent a 2nd round pick in 2013 to the Ducks for him.
- James Mirtle via twitter: Leafs GM Brian Burke said that James van Riemsdyk’s injury was part of the reason a deal wasn’t done during the season.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Ducks GM Bob Murray met with Justin Schultz’s agent at the draft. “I met quietly with their people night and it’s not going anywhere,” Murray said. “Justin’s made up his mind on what he’s doing.” “We’ve got one more attempt,” he said. “We’re going to try once more.”
