- Harrison Mooney of the Vancouver Sun: Shane Doan wants to have a contract in place before the CBA expires on September 15th. It could be good news for the Canucks as the sale of the Coyotes is still in limbo. After the 15th, it’s possible that Doan would get less than he would before since it’s rumored the salary cap is going down.
- Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic: The Coyotes are about $9 million below the salary cap floor.
The Coyotes are anticipating the addition of Doan’s contract, but without an owner in place by the expiration of the current CBA on Sept. 15, the Coyotes could expect Doan will pick a new team. Doan has decided to sign before a potential lockout to avoid the uncertainty of a new labor agreement, and he’s waited since becoming a free agent on July 1 in an attempt to give Jamison time to complete his bid.
“We hope to settle Doan,” Tippett said. “That would be the one big one, obviously. Other than that, I don’t foresee any other moves before camp.”
- Allen Muir of Sports Illustrated: The Dallas Stars may have to give Jamie Benn a contract bigger than they originally planned. They may have been hoping to give Benn a ‘bridge’ contract, a deal between an reasonable entry level deal and a ‘striking it rich’ deal. They had done something similar with 2 year deals they gave Loui Eriksson and James Neal.
Here’s the twist: now that it’s known that the league wants a CBA that won’t honor the full value of previously signed deals, there’s no reason for Benn to sign any time soon unless he’s given an even higher AAV to protect him when escrow claws back 15-20 percent of every deal. Or he could threaten to hold out when play resumes, knowing that a team struggling to regain its footing in the Dallas market can’t afford the negative optics of starting a delayed season with its franchise player on the sidelines.
- Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers blueline may once again be their weakness, but they will bank on Ryan Whitney to play a big role. He looks to be healthier than he was heading into last season.
- Ryan Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News: Mailbag question: Surely the owners and players (hockey) are smarter than having another strike?
You’d think so. But for a guy like Jaromir Jagr, this will be the third time his career has been interrupted by a strike or lockout. That’s money he’ll never get back. Players and owners in all sports provide lip service during labor negotiations that their game “is all about the fans.” It’s not — it’s about the money. The fans always have been and will continue to be an afterthought when it comes to carving up the financial pie. So, do I think the owners and players are smarter than that? No. Greedy, yes. Smart, no.