It could be a busy trade deadline day
Eric Duhatschuk of The Athletic: Think it will be a busy trade deadline this year as thinks there will be more players available than in the past few years.
There could be 20 pending UFA defensemen that could be available.
The Calgary Flames desperately want to re-sign Johnny Gaudreau to a long-term deal but the Philadelphia Flyers will be hoping he hits the open market.
Will Ristolainen look to test the open market?
NHL Watcher: Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show on Friday on the Philadelphia Flyers and pending UFA defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen: “They’ve had some talks with Ristolainen, I think he was prepared to test the market, we’ll see if that changes.”
The top 13 pending restricted free agents
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Looking at the top RFAs and some notes about them.
1. Matthew Tkachuk – Calgary Flames – Was in the rumor mill last offseason but GM Brad Treliving shot that down. Owed a $9 million qualifying offer.
2. Pierre-Luc Dubois – Winnipeg Jets – Has bounced back this season. It could take over $8 million to lock him up long-term.
3. Jason Robertson – Dallas Stars – Will require a big raise from his current $795,000. Will they go bridge or long-term?
4. Patrik Laine – Winnipeg Jets – Does he want to commit long-term to Blue Jackets? Laine and the Blue Jackets seem to be okay with playing the waiting game.
5. Josh Norris – Ottawa Senators – Have held preliminary talks already. Nick Suzuki’s eight-year, $63 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens is a good comparable.
6. Jesper Bratt – New Jersey Devils – They will have the cap space and the Devils will look to keep the deal before Jack Hughes eight-year, $64 million deal.
7. Andrew Mangiapane – Calgary Flames – His agent has said he’ll recommend a short-term deal. Flames also need to re-sign Johnny Gaudreau and Tkachuk.
8. Tony DeAngelo – Carolina Hurricanes – Maybe pricing himself out of Carolina. Could do another short-term deal.
9. Mario Ferraro – San Jose Sharks – He’d like to stay with the Sharks long-term. Is future captain material.
10. Brock Boeser – Vancouver Canucks – Owed a $7.5 million qualifying offer.
11. Adrian Kempe – Los Angeles Kings – Already has a career-high in goals this season. The Kings will have the cap space for his raise.
12. Noah Dobson – New York Islanders – Believe both sides will want to do a short-term deal.
13. Ilya Samsonov – Washington Capitals – There was talk about potentially being exposed for the expansion draft last offseason.