On the Detroit Red Wings …
Ansar Khan of MLive: The Red Wings are interested in Alexander Radulov, but they are only interested in signing him to a one-year deal. The Wings spoke with Radulov’s agent shortly after their season ended.
A source said they’d like to sign him to a one-year deal in the $4 to $5 million range. Radulov is thought to be looking for a two-year deal. The Wings are concerned about Radulov’s off-ice demeanor and the negative influence he might have in the dressing room and with their younger players.
The Senators gave the Red Wings permission to speak with Dave Cameron about the Wings vacant assistant coaching position. The Wings had previously received permission to speak with Todd Richards, and have spoken with John Torchetti.
Videos: Top Pavel Datsyuk Goals
On the St. Louis Blues …
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Blues GM Doug Armstrong on his offseason priorities.
“Like like year, the focus will be starting with Jaden Schwartz and seeing if we can get him signed to a longer-term extension. We’re building in that area now. (Vladimir) Tarasenko is here, (Alex) Pietrangelo is here, Schwartz, I’d like to see if we can get something done on a longer term here. The difference, I think, in Jaden’s situation now than it was a couple of years ago is there’s a finite time to negotiate and then after a certain date, one of the two of us will select arbitration, so I know he’s under contract. I know that this is going to go into September. So, we now have probably five weeks to work on a long-term deal and if not, he’ll be back on a year-to-year basis after that. But he’s not going to be unrestricted for a while. I would say that’s priority No. 1 because it puts another piece of the puzzle in place in our salary cap.”
Armstrong on pending UFA David Backes.
“Yeah, he’s our captain. I’ve met with some players already and told them their importance and David is at the top of that list as far as unrestricted free agents. He’s been here 10 years, he’s got a vested interest in the leadership group. But he’s 32 years old and the market will bear what the market will bear, but ultimately our salary cap will bear what our salary cap will bear. There’s things I can potentially do with roster players here to open up some space.”
Armstrong on Kevin Shattenkirk and the idea that they might have to trade him.
“I view him as a top player, not only on our team, I view him as a top player in the game. But again, he falls into the jig-saw of the salary cap. Do I expect him back here in September? Sure. I like our defense. I think that’s a good defense. I think we needed all those guys with injuries. But ultimately, it’s not the love of the game you play for. He’s a businessman and he’s going to have to make a business decision and so will we. So, I’d like to bring (Troy) Brouwer back, I’d like to bring (David) Backes back, I’d like to bring a lot of these guys back, but they understand the reality of it. It’s a business decision, and Shatty’s going to have to make one and we’re going to have to make one. But he’s a helluva a hockey player and he’s a big part of our team.”
