- TSN: Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin would like to get P.K. Subban signed and may be fine with extending him during the season.
“I would like to get something done,” he told reporters, adding he did not want to discuss contracts in public. “It takes two to tango.”
Defenseman Alexei Emelin likely won’t be ready until December at the earliest.
- Jim Matheson: Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shoulder is feeling really good following surgery.
“Time will tell if I’m ready for Oct. 1. We’ll talk to the doctors and go from there,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who went under the knife April 23 to repair a labrum tear in his shoulder. “Everybody will be a little bit cautious. It’s important the shoulder is good for the rest of my career.
“I think I’ll be on the ice pretty much with the guys right away (when camp opens Sept. 12) but I’ll probably wear a yellow (no hitting me, please) jersey to start, but it feels really good. I have 100 per cent range of motion. No pain.”
- Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: The Wild and Jason Pominville are talking contract extension. He said he’s over his head injury and whiplash from a Dustin Brown elbow at the end of last season.
“They’ve talked a few times for sure and are going back and forth about what the plans are,” Pominville said. “We’ll just go day by day and see if both sides can make progress and go from there.”
“They committed to getting me, so just that means a lot to me and being part of a group that is committed to having success and being in a city that loves hockey, that makes it even better,” he said. “I want to stay and be part of what they’re building.”
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Claude Giroux won’t be ready for the start of training camp, but he expects to be ready for the start of the season.
“I think everything will be back to 100 percent. I have no worries at all,” said the Flyers captain. “The doctor says everything will be good.”
- Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press: Jets Evander Kane admits he isn’t in the physical condition he normally is at this time of year, but adds there is still a month from the start of the season. His wrist and foot injuries have prevented him from working like he normally would. His mid-June foot surgery took longer to heal than originally thought.
- Allan Muir of SI: Capitals prospect Evgeni Kuznetsov told Sovietsky Sport that he’d seriously consider staying in the KHL if he was offered the right contract.
“If I am offered a contract here for five-to-seven years, then I would seriously think about it,” he said. “A long-term contract guarantees stability, and I want to feel confident about the future.”
- Luke Fox: Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf is hoping they can get a deal done that would keep him in Toronto.
“I want to be part of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a long time. I love playing in the city, but the business side will take care of itself,” Phaneuf said at the Leafs and Legends Charity Gold Classic, the club’s annual pre-training-camp get-together. “I’m sure that we’ll get something done.”
“We haven’t talked yet, but there’s lots of time left,” Phaneuf. “I think you’re open to everything. For me, I have no problem with doing it during the year. That’s what happened with my last deal.”
Phaneuf is entering the last year of a six-year, $39 million deal he signed with Calgary.
- Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks have signed defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a five-year contract extension. Pierre LeBrun: Hjalmarsson’s deal carries a $4.1 million salary cap hit.