On Dustin Byfuglien …
- Dan Rosen of NHL.com: Dustin Byfuglien on trade rumors.
“I’m the guy that just lets it roll (off my back),” Byfuglien said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s business. It doesn’t matter even if I have a contract. That date is set and it comes down to that day for everyone. No one is safe. It gets into the back of your head, but it’s nothing that I’m worried about. Business is business. I think either side is going to be OK on it. It’s something I just gotta go with.”
Byfuglien on the slow process of contract negotiations.
“We talk, but nothing is moving too fast so it’s a matter of sitting here and waiting,” Byfuglien said.
On the Colorado Avalanche …
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Aleksander Barkov’s six-year, $35.4 million contract extension with the Florida Panthers bodes well for Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon’s entry-level deal expires after this season, and he should exceed Barkov’s $5.9 million cap hit. Will they do a “bridge” deal or go with a long-term deal? Chambers thinks MacKinnon should get a long-term at $7 million per year. The Avs also need to re-sign pending free agents Tyson Barrie and Calvin Pickard.
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
- Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch: Arace thinks the Blue Jackets should trade a bunch of their veteran players before the deadline, bring up a bunch of young players from the AHL to see what they can do in the NHL, and hope they lose enough to secure the best odds to win the draft lottery.
On Expansion …
- AP in the Columbus Dispatch: Gary Bettman said that Seattle is not running for an expansion team.
“If someone wanted to give us an application right now, we wouldn’t take it,” Bettman said Saturday at his state-of-the-league news conference.