On the Colorado Avalanche …
Adrian Dater: Hearing that the Avalanche won’t buy out defenseman Francois Beauchemin. It could change, but doubtful.
On the Vegas Golden Knights …
Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Golden Knights GM George McPhee on the weekend.
“We’re far along on a couple that I imagine we’ll have something done soon,” he said.
McPhee will listen to all trade offers, but doesn’t know how many deals he’ll get done before he has to submit his list of players they are selecting.
“You try to do the best deal you can on a team-by-team basis,” he said. “You try to make a deal that’s fair and reasonable for both sides.”
On the Arizona Coyotes …
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: Coyotes GM John Chayka returned from the scouting combine yesterday with lots of trade possibilities.
“There is a deadline in place for a reason,” said Chayka of the upcoming trade/waiver freeze. “There are a lot of conversations right now. Hopefully, I’ll find out in the next seven days so I can execute for a week.”
Teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators may be looking to make some moves before protective lists are submitted.
Chayka on the Mike Smith trade speculation that came up over the weekend.
“If it’s being viewed as me making Mike available and starting a bidding war, that’s not the case,” he said. “We’re taking calls on players every year. I don’t think anyone is untradeable but like we talked about last year with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, he’s up as high on that list as anyone.
“There’s a value to our team that Mike has, being an All-Star and our rock. His value is extremely high but if someone wants to pay an even higher value for him, that’s the industry.”
Chayka added that there is nothing new to report with regards to Shane Doan and if he plans to retire or not.
