On the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets …
Adrian Dater: Matt Duchene is basically just waiting to see if he gets traded before the start of training camp. If he’s not traded by then, “he’ll cross that bridge then” about whether he’ll report to training camp or not.
Aaron Portzline: (from last week) It’s possible that the Columbus Blue Jackets take a long look at Pierre-Luc Dubois at training camp and determine if they need to make a move at center or not.
Aaron Portzline: Things can obviously change quickly. The Blue Jackets could increase their offer to the Avalanche, or the Avs could look elsewhere.
Aaron Portzline: (continuing on the ‘above’ note) In late August had heard that three or four teams had circled back on Duchene. The Blue Jackets weren’t among those teams.
Aaron Portzline: There was some trade speculation that the Blue Jackets were offering defenseman Ryan Murray and forward Boone Jenner as part of a trade for Duchene, but has been told that at that time, it was not accurate. The Blue Jackets never put that on the table.
On the Boston Bruins …
Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: Bruins GM Don Sweeney said late last week that contract talks with David Pastrnak were “status quo.” The word is that despite recent contract talks there is a still a big gap.
It has been reported for awhile that the Bruins have offered Pastrnak $6 million a year over six or seven years. It is believed that Pastrnak’s camp recently countered that with an eight-year deal for around $64 million. Leon Draisaitl‘s contract with the Oilers was eight years for $68 million.
Given other comps, a long-term deal in the $7 to $7.5 million range is a middle ground. The Bruins could be hoping for a Johnny Gaudreau type deal – six years at $6.75 million per.