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Morning notes on: Doan and his agent, Thomas, Oilers defense, Kane, Ryan, Bouwmeester, Coyotes arena deal, and Kucherov
Mark Easson
Dan Rosen of NHL.com: Rosen lists 5 teams Shane Doan should consider if he leaves Phoenix: Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.
Will DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports: There are some teams that are frustrated with Shane Doan’s agent, Terry Bross. He’s used the media to drive up the price on Doan, and he has negotiated through the media. It is his job to drive up the price, but some teams don’t like how his publicly stated which teams have “strong interest.”
Matt Kalman of CBSBoston: Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has said he’d consider trading Tim Thomas, but you have to wonder how many teams would still be interested in adding him just to get to the salary floor, even if it’s just a paper transaction. If Thomas continues to post controversial things to Facebook or beyond, it could embarrass the team.
Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers could use 1 more defenseman. Their current depth chart right now looks like Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid, Nick Schultz, Ryan Whitney, Justin Schultz, Andy Sutton, Corey Potter and Theo Peckham. A Shea Weber type would have been perfect. Whitney’s health, and Justin Schultz inexperience are question marks. Finding a veteran who could play 2nd pair minutes would be good insurance. Willis writes another article noting that Oilers prospects Colten Teubert and Oscar Klefbom are getting close to being NHL ready. Klefbom will remain in Sweden this year, and could make the jump next season. Taylor Fedum, Martin Marincin and Alex Plante are also coming up the pipeline.
Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press: The Jets gave Evander Kane a 6 year offer worth around $29 million weeks ago, but he hasn’t said yes or no. Jets fans shouldn’t worry about another team getting Kane through an offer sheet, as they basically know it would get matched. It would have happened by now if some team was going to try.