Blues Jackets confident they can make a trade
Brian Hedger: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen put the probability at a little less than 50 percent that he’ll be able to trade back into first-round.
Kekalainen is confident that he’ll be able to make some kind of trade(s).
Blue Jackets still in the running for Duchene, but he’ll be talking to teams next week
Pierre LeBrun: The Blue Jackets are still in the mix for free agent center Matt Duchene, and he hasn’t cut ties with a potential return.
It is expected though that he’ll talk to other teams during the interview process.
Duchene’s camp is expected to take calls on Sunday and Monday from interested teams and then decides if/where he wants to visit.
The starting asking price for Panarin will be over $12 million
James (@Account4hockey): TSNs Frank Seravalli said that Artemi Panarin‘s starting ask will in the $12+ million range but he guesses that Panarin will sign around $11.5 million.
Bobrovsky and Panarin not able to talk numbers with Florida yet
Aaron Portzline: As of yesterday afternoon the Blue Jackets hadn’t given the Florida Panthers permission to speak with either Sergei Bobrovsky or Artemi Panarin.
Panthers and Blue Jackets still talking?
David Dwork: (from Wednesday night) “After working the phones this week, here’s an update on the #FlaPanthers in free agency. It seems Artemi Panarin and the Panthers could get a deal done sooner rather than later; it’s too good of a fit (Dadonov, Quenneville, location, $ to offer) to not work out.”
- David Dwork: continued: “As for Sergei Bobrovsky, there is still some work to be done between the two sides but it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. Both remain very much in play for Florida. I expect both contracts to be BIG, possibly in the eight figure range.”
- David Dwork: “To clarify, this reporting is based on information gathered from all sides. Based on where each party individually stands, it’s my judgment to put that info together and express what I feel it means.”