On the Anaheim Ducks …
Bob McKenzie: Anaheim Ducks RFA Hampus Lindholm would be giving up two years of unrestricted free agency compared to the one-year for Rasmus Ristolainen on a six-year deal, which is why he’s looking for a little more.
Bob McKenzie: Guessing that they are around $250,000 a year apart on a six-year deal. The Ducks have cap/budget issues and potentially a trade that they have to deal with as well.
On the Winnipeg Jets …
Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Free Press: The agent for Jacob Trouba, Kurt Overhardt, said there isn’t concern about Trouba missing the entire NHL season. To be eligible to play in the NHL this season, RFAs must be signed before December 1st.
“It’s only Oct. 17… it’s not something on our minds,” Overhardt said Monday. “There’s obviously a lot of time between now and then. We’re going to continue to keep working in good faith and try helping to facilitate a positive transaction so everyone can benefit.
“It’s not really an issue at this point.”
If Trouba doesn’t have a NHL contract in place by December 1st, they do have a plan in place.
“We have to contemplate everything, but it’s not something we are going to discuss as it involves our client and it’s a private matter,” he said, adding he’d spoken with Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff earlier in the day. “Any of the conversations we have with (the Jets) are very amicable and those are private, too.”
On the Winnipeg Jets and Jacob Trouba … the Anaheim Ducks and Hampus Lindholm …
Michael Traikos of the National Post: Though their situations are different, Jacob Trouba and Hampus Lindholm are at a similar crossroads. Both RFAs are 22-year old and would like more money and/or opportunity to show that they are young stars.
“I think we all know that we wouldn’t be in this situation right now if it wasn’t a young man’s game,” said Kurt Overhardt, who represents Trouba. “Part of it is systemic. But the other part is the skill level of players coming out of junior and college and Europe is pretty incredible.
“We’ve got 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds playing huge roles on teams. And at 22 years old, a player doesn’t want to stay around waiting if he thinks his ability is greater than the opportunity he’s been given, because there’s really great players in front of him.”
Neither Trouba or Lindholm have much negotiating leverage as they wait for a deal to get done.
“The season is more than three games,” said player agent Claude Lemieux, who represents Lindholm. “Trying to get a long-term deal is more than just the performance of the team during a short period of time. There’s definitely motivation from both sides to try and get a deal done.”
Michael Traikos: Trouba’s agent Kurt Overhardt: “This is nothing like (Jonathan) Drouin. It shouldn’t be personal. We continue to speak to the club — everything’s amicable”
