On the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights …
Aivis Kalnins: Doesn’t appear that Stephane Da Costa will return to CSKA Moscow next season and it’s looking more likely that he’ll return to the NHL.
Aivis Kalnins: The Montreal Canadiens have spoken with Da Costa, though not sure where talks stand. The Vegas Golden Knights have also shown interest in Da Costa.
On the Winnipeg Jets …
Ken Wiebe: Expect that the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck will work out a bridge deal before they have their arbitration hearing.
On the New Jersey Devils …
Steve Lichtenstein of CNS New York: Devils GM Ray Shero is aware that the organization lacks NHL quality and quantity on their blue line. He’s made note of their weakness. They lost out on Kevin Shattenkirk in free agency.
Unless Shero is able to make a trade, it looks like they could head into the season with what they have now.
Cody Franson is the top free agent defenseman still available and he doesn’t appear to be on Shero’s radar.
On Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan …
NHL.com: Both free agents Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan said that they have been in contract with multiple teams about playing next season.
“At 40, you want to be on a contending team,” Iginla said last week. “With the parity in the NHL, there are probably 15 teams that have a chance. … You factor all that in, along with family. At this point, we’re still uncertain.”
Iginla and Doan are both 40 years old and have never won a Stanley Cup.
Doan said that he is looking for a one-year deal.
“It’s pretty hard to find that,” he said. “Pretty much impossible at this point. … We’re just kind of waiting and seeing. We’ve talked to four or five teams.”
On the active points list, Iginla sits third behind Jaromir Jagr and Joe Thornton with 1,300 in 1,554 games.
“If I keep playing, I look forward to that. I’ll be ready,” Iginla said. “If I don’t, I’ve had a great run and I’m very thankful for that.”