- Renaud Lavoie: The Lightning have signed goalie Ben Bishop to a two-year contract extension. Capgeek.com: Bishop will make $2.2 million next year and $2.4 the following year, a $2.3 million salary cap hit.
- L.A. Lariviere: The Canadiens were to talk with college free agent Antoine Laganiere again yesterday. There are at least three other teams he’s talking too. He could decide today.
- Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe: Bruins Carl Soderberg is expected to arrive in Boston today and should be practicing with the team tomorrow morning.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: Red Wings Johan Franzen has been getting the reputation of being soft over the past couple years. He missed seven games in February with a hip flexor. He’s been playing well of late, recording 16 points in his last 20 games. He signed an 11-year, $43.5 million extension in 2009. The Wings won’t be using their amnesty buyout on him.
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Flyers coach Peter Laviolette received a vote of confidence from GM Paul Holmgren yesterday.
“I haven’t even thought along those lines,” he told The Inquirer in a phone conversation. “I think it’s been a difficult year because of the (injury) situation. We haven’t had our whole team all year.
“I don’t blame the coaches.”
After yesterday’s morning skate, Holmgren said that he expects Laviolette to be coaching the Flyers next season.
- Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: (published last Friday) The Maloofs, owners of the NBA Sacramento Kings, who are in the process of selling the team, have looked into buying an NHL team and having them play Las Vegas. (Elliotte Friedman talked about this in Saturday’s Hotstove, saying the NHL hasn’t talked to them in years.)
