- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Panthers GM Dale Tallon isn’t actively shopping the 2nd overall pick, but he’s open for offers.
“We’re in good position,” the Florida Panthers’ general manager said this morning at the NHL scouting combine. “We’ll take advantage of it.”
Tallon has already had a couple of short talks about the pick.
“You see what they’re willing to pay, and that’s the fun part of the job,” Tallon said. “I’ve had a couple of mild conversations here and there this week, ‘Are you going to move the pick?’ Make me an offer. That’s the way it goes. You start the process early, and you work it all the way through till the five minutes before you make the pick, maybe a minute before the pick.
“Colorado’s in the driver’s seat right there, and we know we’re going to get a hell of a player at two or three or four. It’s a deep draft. We’ve already drawn a line in the sand. We’ve gone through every process and every situation with our staff already this week, and we’ll continue to rehash this throughout the month of June. We’ll be ready for any and every situation on June 30.”
- Tony Ambrogio: From the draft combine a scout said that the top 10 picks are as good as he’s seen in years with “a lot of high end talent.” Another scout said that there are 8 to 12 players who could play in the NHL next season.
- Mark Masters: Draft prospect Sean Monahan will attend camps held by the Sabres, Maple Leafs, Devils, Flames and Oilers.
- Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times: Russian draft prospect Valeri Nichushkin’s agent, Mark Gandler, said he is serious about playing in North American next season. Gandler confirmed that Nichushkin’s two-year deal with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL has been terminated. The deal was terminated with the condition that if he doesn’t make the NHL, he’ll return to the KHL.