On the Colorado Avalanche …
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: (mailbag) Starting to think that Matt Duchene will start the year with the Avalanche. The Avs only have three defensemen signed right now and Duchene could land them a top-four defenseman. Contract talks with Nikita Zadorov are ongoing.
thinks that Will Butcher won’t be signing with the Avalanche and will become an unrestricted free agent next month.
hasn’t been able to confirm if Zadorov has an agreement in place with a KHL team. Zadorov would like to sign a two-year bridge contract with the Avalanche. They have the money to sign him and will come to terms at some point.
On the New York Islanders …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Islanders head coach Doug Weight on Sirius XM updating the John Tavares contract situation.
“We’ve known Johnny for so long. He knows us,” underscored Weight. “You come up to these opportunities as a player maybe once in your career. I was traded before – I was a free agent at 35, but before that I was traded before those times for assets and I never got to go to free agency.
“Johnny wants to win championships and he wants to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s what he wants. He wants to be the best. He challenges himself. I know he has great faith in us, but it’s his decision. It’s his time. We trust that. We feel good about our position with John. We’re in no way going to put pressure on him. He knows what he means to us and what we’ll do for him. He’s our captain, our leader, our best player.
“But respect to him and make his decision and he’ll come by that the right way. He’s got a great family, a great support staff, a great agent in Pat, and they’re going to figure that out.”