On the Boston Bruins …
Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: Forward David Pastrnak remains without a contract for next season. There has been some talk that term might be an issue, with Pastrnak’s camp possibly looking for a bridge deal, but there isn’t really any evidence that, that is the case.
The issue is likely comes down to money – maybe in the $7 million range on a long-term deal or as high as Vladimir Tarasenko‘s $7.5 million.
Do the Bruins say they won’t go higher than Brad Marchand‘s $6.125 million? Source said earlier this offseason that progress was made on a deal what was less than what Marchard is making. GM Don Sweeney said contract talks moved “into a holding pattern.”
A six-year, $6 million per year could be beneficial for all, but if the Edmonton Oilers sign Leon Draisaitl to a new deal in the $7 to $8 million range, it might raise the price for Pastrnak.
On the Colorado Avalanche …
James O’Brien of Pro Hockey Talk: The Colorado Avalanche may have missed an opportunity this offseason to move Matt Duchene and/or Gabriel Landeskog. The offseason is the best time for teams to be able to take on large salary cap hits – $6 million per for Duchene, $5.57 million for Landeskog.
The Avs may be better off hanging on to both now and hope that they can increase their trade value.
Are the Avs better off trading Duchene and/or Landeskog? Not often do you receive equal value back when trading a player of their caliber. Draft picks are usually the best returns.
James O’Brien of Pro Hockey Talk: The Avalanche lack quality defensemen but maybe they should shop Erik Johnson and his $6 million contract through 2022-23 if the Avs show some improvement this season.
The Avs have Semyon Varlamov under contract for another two years and Jonathan Bernier for one-year, so they Avs may need to make some decisions on what their future goaltending could look like.