Quick hits on the Canucks, Ducks, Panthers, Rangers, Leafs, Stars, Blue Jackets and retaining salary
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: Some are thinking that Patrik Allvin is the frontrunner for the Vancouver Canucks GM position but there is some speculation that he may not be.
The Anaheim Ducks have 10 to 12 candidates for their GM position and don’t appear to be in any rush. They may be interested in talking to Colorado Avalanche assistant GM Chris MacFarland.
There is no timeline for an NHL ruling on Evander Kane.
The Florida Panthers will be linked to many defensemen and could be in on Jakob Chychrun.
Could see the New York Rangers making a big swing.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t against clearing salary cap space ahead of the trade deadline.
The Dallas Stars have stepped up talks to move defenseman John Klingberg.
Do the Columbus Blue Jackets it’s in their best interest (short- and long-term) to look at extending pending RFA forward Patrik Laine to a big, long-term deal? He’s a year away from being a UFA.
The Arizona Coyotes can only retain salary on one more player. The Buffalo Sabres, Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators could be used to retain salary.
Almost everyone is interested in Kuzmenko
TSN: The Ottawa Senators are one of the many teams that have shown interest in 25-year old KHL forward Andrei Kuzmenko according to Darren Dreger.
“As we talk about this – 53 points in 45 games – his agent, says he is focused on the Olympics, wants to win gold for Russia. He’s focused on the men’s worlds and he’s focused on the Gagarin Cup and he is not going to consider any of the NHL interest until his season has concluded. His agent says virtually every team in the NHL has interest in Kuzmenko.”