Odds of Nazem Kadri returning to Colorado lessen as time goes by
Adrian Dater: Spoke to three sources on Monday and believes there is a lesser chance that Nazem Kadri re-signs with the Colorado Avalanche.
Adrian Dater: Don’t believe the Avalanche will trade defenseman Sam Girard. He’s a very good player, is only 24-years-old and has lots term left on his contract. It doesn’t make much sense for the Avs to move him out if the value is low.
Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now: Nazem Kadri still remains unsigned. Are teams waiting on him to decide where he wants to play?
There been some speculation that the Colorado Avalanche are trying to clear salary cap space so they can re-sign him, but odds to seem to be lowering on that happening.
Have been hearing that there is some frustration growing from his side of things. He may have been thinking he’d be getting bigger offers from the Avalanche and other teams.
The Avs aren’t saying anything. Kadri likely has some offers still on the table but he may not want to play for those teams. Maybe there are some teams he’d like to play for but they currently don’t have the cap space. This could be the case for the Avs.
The Avs will need to extend Nathan MacKinnon for the 2023-24 season and that may come in at $11 million. The Avs may be thinking more shorter-term with Kadri and he’ll be looking for longer-term.
Senators need to improve their blue line
Travis Yost of TSN: The Ottawa Senators have nice collection of under 25-year-old forwards but their blue line is needing some work still.
Currently in their projected top-six defense are Travis Hamonic, Nikita Zaitsev and Nick Holden. Erik Brannstrom is in their top four and is coming off a not-so-great season.
It’s not a surprise that they’ve been linked to Florida Panthers MacKenzie Weegar and Arizona Coyotes Jakob Chychrun. They don’t want to overpay to fill a need. How aggressive should/will they be?
Are they serious playoff contenders? A lot may depend on if they improve the blue line, and the goaltending they get from Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot.