- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Alex Pietrangelo’s only leverage in contract talks is his talent. The Blues have leverage on service time, his desire to play in the Olympic and how the Blues are a rising team. They could do a deal ranging from two to eight years. A shorter deal may be in the $3 million range, with a longer deal in the $5.5 to $7 million range. Pietrangelo and the Blues have until December 1st to agree on a deal. The Blues believe a deal will get done and would match any offer sheet. Pietrangelo’s agents are likely comparing with Drew Doughty who got a six-year, $42 million deal. Pietrangelo: 121 points and a +25 in 224 games. Doughty: 126 points and a +16 in 239 games. Blues GM Doug Armstrong wants,
“to get this done as quickly as possible.” He continued: “We want our fans to know we’re working hard to come to resolution with a player we trust and respect and who wants to be in St. Louis. We don’t’ take it personally. We think Alex understands it’s a business.”
“We’re going to sign him when we’re comfortable and he’s comfortable — and not before that,” Armstrong said. “It’s not going to be influenced by win-loss record.”
- Chris Johnston of SportsNet: Sharks Logan Courture thinks that Nazem Kadri should follow what he did when he was in that situation, sign a short-term deal and look to hit a home run on the next deal.
“I don’t know why he doesn’t just do a two-year deal,” Couture told sportsnet.ca on Thursday during the NHL’s player media tour. “Play and have a good two years like you know you can and then you’ll sign a nice deal after. You’ve just got to be confident that you’re going to have two good years.”
Couture signed a two-year, $5.75 million in 2012 and signed a five-year, $30 million contract extension this past summer.
Matt Duchene did something similar and has no regrets about it.
“At the end of the day, maybe I lost a few bucks at the end of my career in those two years that I could have potentially made if my third year had gone differently,” Duchene said. “But that’s not what I’m about, that’s not what it’s about for me. We’re all making great livings here and it’s not going to make a difference in the way I live my life and my well-being.
“I’m not too worried about it – the motivation was more beneficial than those extra dollars would have been.”
- Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer: The long-term future of Joni Pitkanen and his heal injury are still in question and they might have to look at finding a defensive replacement, taking the money that could be available away from bringing in a forward.
“Especially with Joni’s situation, we have to keep our eyes on how much cap room we have,” Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Tuesday. “There’s a little more priority for a defenseman.”
Ron Hainsey is still available and could be a capable replacement for Pitkanen if needed. Hainsey could be still available due to the role he played for the NHLPA during the lockout. Up front, the Hurricanes could use some size, penalty killers, fourth line depth, and a top nine player. The Hurricanes continue to have discussions with Brenden Morrow, Hainsey and others.
“Until we have an idea how long (Pitkanen) is out, we’ll try to replace him with what we’ve got,” Rutherford said. “We’re pretty sure he’s not going to be starting the season.”
- Mike Morreale: Hurricanes 2013 1st round pick Elias Lindholm’s shoulder is almost ready for game action.
- Dobber Hockey: Peter Meuller signed with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss League.