On the Buffalo Sabres …
John Vogl of the Buffalo News: There is nothing new to report on the contract stalemate between the Buffalo Sabres and RFA defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Ristolainen is playing for Team Finland at the World Cup of Hockey. He is covered by insurance for short- and long-term injuries. Johnny Gaudreau, Nikita Kucherov, Hampus Lindholm and Jacob Trouba are other players who are participating in the World Cup and are without a NHL contract.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: There has been lots of speculation that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to trade either Ben Bishop or Andrei Vasilevskiy before the trade deadline due to the expansion draft after the season.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Lightning GM Steve Yzerman told the Times Thursday.
Yzerman said he expects both to start the season with team, and didn’t rule out keeping both for the entire season.
“That’s certainly an option for us,” Yzerman said. “And it’s not a bad option.”
Trade rumors have followed Bishop since before the draft last June, and he recently said he felt he was “close” to being traded to the Calgary Flames before the draft.
Bishop has one year left on his deal with a $5.9 million cap hit. Vasilevskiy signed an extension this offseason that will kick in next season – three years at $3.5 million per.
On Ilya Bryzgalov …
Jared Clinton of The Hockey News: Championat.com is reporting that Ilya Bryzgalov is not considering KHL options if he can’t find a NHL job. Family reasons are keeping him in North America.
“I’m not going to play (in the KHL),” Bryzgalov told Championat. “The fact (is) there are a lot of different reasons. They are not in any way related to the fact, as many people might think, that this is Russia or the level of (play in the KHL). Simply, shall we say, for family reasons, I can not do that. I was thinking about retirement…I play sports and enjoy life. If there are options, we will be glad to consider them, I would love to play.”
