Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avalanche’s Matt Duchene has a new contract in hand (5 years, $30 million) and a new line. Duchene will center Ryan O’Reilly, who will be on the left, with P.A. Parenteau on the right.
“I just talked some with Ryan today, and he’s going to be great on the wing. I think he’s played some there before, and I think he can be really strong there,” Duchene said.
Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: After signing Nick Spaling over the weekend (1 year, $1.5 million), the Predators now have 15 forwards under contract. Spaling may move to the wing, and could be the odd man out. Rich Clune, Filip Forsberg and Taylor Beck could be on the outside looking in as well.
Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Sergey Tolchinsky (5′ 8″, 164 pounds) was not drafted, but attended the Hurricanes orientation camp and turned some heads.
“He’s probably the biggest surprise or explosive guy this week who made people look at him,” Kirk Muller, coach of the Hurricanes said Saturday. “He didn’t get drafted – let’s be honest, probably people said it was his size. There’s a good example of you look at him, you get to know him, he’s got a great attitude and is a fun-loving guy and he plays hard and he produces.
“He’s a guy that I would say that really made us turn our heads.”