On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Tom Dougherty of CSN Philly: The Flyers have five pending RFAs, but Brayden Schenn is their only priority to get signed to a long-term deal. Schenn said there were no contract talks during the season, and added that he wants to be in Philadelphia long-term if they want him. Flyers GM Ron Hextall said it won’t be the first thing they get done this offseason as it can take time.
“There’s a lot of factors that come into play with term, money, cap,” he said. “So I can’t make a blanket comment right now and say that we’ll sign Brayden to a long-term deal. I would certainly be open to it, but I have no idea right now where that’s headed.”
Schenn is a natural center who played on the wing this season. He had a career high in 59 points this year. Schenn will be looking for more than Sean Couturier’s $4.33 million deal. He could be looking for a three or four year deal around $5 million per season. Dougherty is thinking three years at a $5.25 million cap hit.
On the New York Islanders …
Arthur Staple of Newsday: Brian Strait likely won’t be back with the Islanders. Marek Zidlicky could retire, but if he doesn’t, he won’t be back with the Isles. The Islanders are pretty much set on the blueline this offseason after Travis Hamonic rescinded his trade request. GM Garth Snow can focus on upgrading their forward group.
On the Florida Panthers …
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1050 on Panthers pending UFA defenseman Brian Campbell.
“I think we’re going to continue down the road this summer of seeing a major correction. With the relative flat cap and things pretty tight on the dollar front, I think any defensemen out there in free agency that looking for really big paydays – I think the notion of a guy getting $6-7 million-plus with six or seven-year deals, that’s not likely to happen as much anymore.
“I would think a guy like Campbell would look at his situation in Florida and say, ‘You know what? I really like it here. This is home. The team’s on the rise. I’m a significant part of that team. As long as they still want me…’
“That’s, for me, a clear case of you’ve got to know where your bread is buttered. I would imagine he’d be willing to some degree to take a pretty good hometown discount to continue right down the road that he’s been going, fully recognizing he’s not getting what he’s got in the past.“