Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: One report is saying the Los Angeles Kings are out of the running for Simon Gagne, and another says they are still interested. Things were quiet involving Tomas Kaberle over the weekend, but should pick up this week.
Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Elliott wonders how the Kings can become more attractive to free agents. Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Wayne Simmonds will be free agents soon, and will they want to re-sign with a team that can’t draw top free agents? The Kings may have to go the trade route to fill some holes in their roster. If the Devils sign Kovalchuk, they’ll have to clear out some salary. Brian Rolston could be available, but he’s 37 and has a $5.062 cap hit. Tomas Kaberle is an option but the Leafs probably want prospects and picks (nope … they’d like a top 6 forward, maybe a Wayne Simmonds or Dustin Brown). The Kings like Simon Gagne, and the Flames may deal Robyn Regehr. Marc Savard could fit but the Kings may not be on the 5 team list Savard has.
Pierre LeBrun via Twitter: Alexander Frolov hasn’t received much interest, other than the Rangers doing some brief tire kicking.
Jeremy Rutherford via Twitter: A “good-faith” move by Jaroslav Halak by not filing for salary arbitration.
Lou Lamoriello may be feeling the pressure to win now as Martin Brodeur is 38-years old. Dmitry Chesnokov via Twitter: Evgeni Nabokov couldn’t agree on a contract with SKA St. Petersburgh.
Ansar Khan of MLive: The Detroit Red Wings are close to signing 3 of their restricted free agents to 1 year contracts: Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and Derek Meech. GM Ken Holland isn’t close to signing Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm, both could get long-term deals later on in the summer though.
John Shannon via Twitter: The Detroit Red Wings and 3 other teams are interested in Mike Modano.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune: Mike Modano hasn’t heard from the Chicago Blackhawks, but they could be an option for him as they are looking for some 3rd/4th line depth (cost friendly depth). “I’d like to see what kind of wiggle room they have left under the salary cap, if they can fill that third- or fourth-line void and see how I would fit in with those guys,” said Modano. “They have a great nucleus of kids. So there is a lot of interest there. Obviously, coming off the type of year they’ve had there’s a lot of excitement for anybody who has Chicago on their list of options.”
Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: Blake Wheeler filed for arbitration yesterday, but Wheeler’s agent plans on working hard to get a deal done. They haven’t had much discussion with GM Peter Chiarelli as he’s been busy with the draft and free agency. Mark Stuart didn’t file for arbitration as he and Bruins are close to a 1-year extension. Boston re-signed both Nathan McIver and Nolan Schaefer.
Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski filed for salary arbitration yesterday, but after the meeting his agent and GM Bob Murray last week, they appear to be on the “same page”. More discussions should take place before their arbitration meeting which would be between July 20th and August 5th.