Taylor Hall and the Bruins, Tyler Johnson and the Lightning, and Capitals roster spots
Tom Gulitti of NHL.com: (mailbag) How Taylor Hall plays down the stretch/playoffs may determine how long he’s with the organization. There is a good chance that he re-signs with the Bruins as it seems like a good fit so far. He almost signed with them this past offseason and used his no-movement clause to direct himself to the Bruins at the deadline. The Bruins also have pending UFAs in David Krejci and Tuukka Rask.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson has three years left at a $5 million cap hit. It won’t be easy for the Lightning to find a team to take on the contract without them attaching an asset to Johnson. They’ll be forced to give up a draft pick or prospect to get someone to take on his contract.
Wouldn’t expect the Washington Capitals to leave Evgeny Kuznetsov unprotected for the expansion draft. They might not need to clear a roster spot at center for Connor McMichael by the start of next season as they may start him off on the wing. The Capitals should clear a roster spot for left-handed defenseman Martin Fehervary. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler was moved at the deadline and Zdeno Chara may not be back.
NHL needs a Winter Olympics decision by the end of next month
TSN: The NHL and NHLPA are still trying to work on details on participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics but it’s not a priority for the IOC at the moment. The NHL has set an end of May deadline for a decision as they need to start working on next season’s schedule according to Frank Seravalli.
“The NHL schedule for next season is usually announced in June and they need to know whether they’re going to have a three-week break for the NHL players to go to the Olympics. But the problem is this isn’t exactly priority No. 1 for the IOC at the moment. They’re trying to get this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo off the ground before they can then handle what’s left with the NHL, so, at this point though, all indications are – because I think a lot of people are curious – that the NHL and the NHLPA are working in lockstep in order to try and get this done.”