- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Zach Parise will be a RFA at season’s end, but would like to start contract negotiations on an extension. So far there have been no talks (Kovalchuk saga most likely the reason.
“I’m the type of person who likes to know what’s going on,” Parise told . “I like to have that comfort and stability.
“But I’m not concerned. I understand the way things have traditionally been done around here. To talk would be kind of out of the norm. Playing out the last year on my contract is not going to affect me in a negative way, I know that. I’ve kind of been through it before. You don’t want to say you need something like that (the final year on a contract) to make you play harder or better, but I think a lot of times it does make you play better.”
- Darren Dreger via twitter: Sounds like there are productive talks between the Dallas Stars and James Neal.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: From Pat Morris, Neal’s agent, “The negotiations with James Neal are getting to a critical stage for both sides. There is always that time for ‘the fork in road’ where a deal can be done or won’t be done for a long period. James hopes to become a contracted member of the Stars once again very soon. Both sides will have to be flexible.”
- Anthony Gross via twitter: Rangers GM Glen Sather, “We have made Staal a pretty lucrative offer, and I don’t think we’re very far apart.”
- Adrian Dater via twitter: Peter Forsberg … “I haven’t closed the door yet, but it’s pretty close.”
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson will be a UFA at seasons end, and the Avs may not want to risk waiting that long, a deal during the season is a possibility.
- Mark Spector via twitter: The Oilers best bet is send Sheldon Souray to their AHL camp in late September.
- Mark Spector via twitter: From an agent on Souray, “There is NO market for Souray. The fact he has two years left ($5.4M hit) is a killer.”
- Tom Gulitti of the Bergon Record: Jamie Langenbrunner realizes that he could be moved by the Devils.
“I would definitely say there is an uneasiness,” captain Jamie Langenbrunner told me. “We’re all smart enough to figure out which guys are uneasy or waiting to see what’s going to happen. There’s probably six or seven of us that fit into the category of making enough money to leave to fit us under the cap and are of a certain age that would be tradable. I think all of us are smart enough in the business of hockey to understand it. It’s a situation that it could be any one of six or seven of us. Probably two of us.
- Ben Kuzma via twitter: Brendan Morrison is talking to 3 teams regarding a contract.
- Tom Reed and Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets season tickets sales are down 25%, 10,300 to 7,700.