Entry-level deal coming for Romanov
Andrew Zadarnowski: A Russian business site is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens will be signing defenseman Alexander Romanov to an entry-level contract after April 30th. He won’t be signing a contract extension with CSKA. CSKA will retain his KHL rights.
Not easy for GM to extend players right now … Could players rollback salaries?
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion agreed with other GMs in that aside from signing players to entry-level contracts, getting new deals done is not easy.
Friedman wonders as part of the CBA talks between the NHL and NHLPA if they’d consider a lower salary cap with the players offering to rollback their salaries is they could get some type of escrow protection.
Offseason questions for each team in the Central Division
Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet: Looking at some offseason questions for teams in the Central Division.
Chicago Blackhawks – 35-year old Corey Crawford is a pending free agent, and even if they re-sign him, they will need to add some help in net.
Colorado Avalanche – Taylor Hall would like to play for a contending team. The Avalanche have the salary cap space to add the pending UFA and could fit nicely with Nazem Kadri on the second-line.
Dallas Stars – Could use some help up front again this offseason. They may need to give up some futures to help out now.
Minnesota Wild – 25-year old defenseman Matt Dumba is under contract through 2022-23 and it may not make sense to trade him. Defenseman Jonas Brodin would become a free agent after next season and it may make sense to extend him. They should be able to re-sign him at a reasonable amount.
Nashville Predators – Goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros each have a year left on their contracts at a combined $6.5 million. Saros could be ready to take over the No. 1 status. The Predators will likely be looking forward who could help put them over the top.
St. Louis Blues – Will the Blues be able to extend defenseman Alex Pietrangelo?
Winnipeg Jets – The Jets need to improve their blue line and could use a top-four defenseman. They might look at moving a forward to acquire a defenseman.