On the Colorado Avalanche and Nikita Zadorov …
Adrian Dater: Hearing that the Colorado Avalanche and Nikita Zadorov are close on a deal that could be in the low $2 million range.
Adrian Dater: It might be awhile before the Avalanche announce the deal, but the sides are close.
On the Vancouver Canucks and Bo Horvat …
Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Restricted free agent center Bo Horvat is still looking for a contract from the Vancouver Canucks.
Term shouldn’t be a big issue. It will likely be a six-year deal as the Canucks don’t want to go eight years.
Former assistant GM Laurence Gilman, who was with the team when they drafted Horvat, was on TSN 1040 yesterday and speculated that Horvat’s deal will be in the $5 million range.
Kuzma notes that Mika Zibanejad and Nino Niederreiter recently signed deals worth $5.3 million and $5.2 million. Vincent Trocheck’s six-year, $4.75 million per might have been a previous comparable from last year, but recent deals changed the number.
GM Jim Benning wouldn’t comment much on the contract talks. The Canucks have about $8.1 million in cap space to sign Horvat and Brendan Gaunce (RFA). That would leave them with a little bit of room for potential moves.
There could be a gap in numbers or Horvat’s agent has been waiting for other RFA signings to help use as leverage.
“I think the talks are progressing and I think we’ll get something done,” said Benning, who expects to reach a contract resolution before training camp. “It’s a typical negotiation because he’s a real good player and a good person, but I’m not going to comment publicly on the negotiation process.
“I would say that everything has been positive to this point and we’ll just continue to go through the process because Bo is a very good young player for us and we want to figure something out that is fair to him and fair to the team.”