Coyotes and Senators talking trade?
Shawn Simpson: Have been hearing that the Arizona Coyotes and Ottawa Senators have been talking trade involving forward Derek Stepan.
Stepan has a year left on his contract at a salary cap hit of $6.5 million but a salary of $5 million.
Outdoor games
Pierre LeBrun: The Boston Bruins are still interested in hosting outdoor games. The only way that it would make sense is if they could get enough fans in the stands and at this point in time, it’s hard to say when that could happen.
Pierre LeBrun: The Los Angeles Kings also looked at the idea of outdoor games but at this time there are just too many cases. It is just a wait and see at this point. The idea hasn’t been shot down but they’ll need to monitor the numbers.
Pierre LeBrun: The Carolina Hurricanes were another team that looked at hosting multiple outdoor games. A source said that they have given up on the idea now as it doesn’t make sense financially since the outdoor capacity is only 10 percent.
Matthew DeFranks: The Dallas Stars looked at hosting out games but the idea didn’t progress that far.
Blue Jackets likely could go that high on Granlund
Mark Scheig: Doubt that the Columbus Blue Jackets were interested in signing UFA Mikael Granlund to a one-year deal around $4 million when they still need to re-sign RFA Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Quick hits on PTOs, Chara, Hoffman, and the Islanders
Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) Would expect that there will be more PTOs than signings by the start of training camp. There are too many teams that are too close to the salary cap. A contract may open up PTOs if there are injuries or if players opt-out.
Would expect players like Zdeno Chara and Mike Hoffman to sign a contract before the start of training camp. Would be a shock if Chara wasn’t back with the Bruins.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, and Los Angeles Kings have the need for scoring and would benefit from signing Hoffman.
Mathew Barzal remains the New York Islanders’ top priority and he’ll take up a large chunk of any remaining salary cap space. They will likely bring back Matt Martin and Andy Greene on one-year deals. If they have enough room, Derick Brassard could be back.