Senators buyout candidates
Shawn Simpson: The Ottawa Senators have four players who are legit buyout candidates after the season – Matt Murray, Colin White, Nikita Zaitsev and Michael Del Zotto. They have a combined $18 million cap hit. During a rebuild, you can’t have that much bad money on the books. Sean Tierney’s contract extension hasn’t been good either.
Could someone bite on Murray?
Sportsnet: Most people figured that Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray and his two remaining years at $6.25 million after this season would clear waivers but that may not be the case according to Jeff Marek. With Buffalo Sabres Craig Anderson out week-to-week, could they take a look at Murray?
“I don’t want to speculate, but it doesn’t sound very good,” Marek said. “We would expect the Buffalo Sabres to be very much in the goalie market sooner or later.”
There are also the Arizona Coyotes who may need a contract to stay above the salary floor, especially if they trade Phil Kessel.
“I don’t think anyone expects Phil Kessel to be there past trade deadline, but if they claim Matt Murray, that might help them get to the salary cap floor,” Marek said. “Which, if they’re getting rid of veteran players and big contracts, they’ll need help doing so.”
Hurricanes one of the teams calling on Klingberg
Sportsnet: Earlier this season Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that Dallas Stars pending unrestricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg could be looking for an eight-year deal in the low $60 million range. The Dallas Stars slow start has teams calling to check in on his status.
According to Jeff Marek, the Carolina Hurricanes are one of those teams.
“It’s a team that’s always looking for superstar players. This team was in the Jack Eichel sweepstakes when he was available from the Buffalo Sabres. The owner likes stars, the hockey operations department likes good players.”
The Stars haven’t given up on the season, with Marek adding they haven’t expressed intentions of trading Klingberg.
“This is a team that has playoff aspirations. But that hasn’t stopped teams from calling.”