On the New Jersey Devils and Yegor Yakovlev …
Igor Eronko: Devils GM Ray Shero said that they haven’t officially signed defenseman Yegor Yakovlev, but once the World Championships are over, they’ll head back to North America to hopefully get a deal finalized.
Igor Eronko: Yakovlev: “#NJDevils have scouted me for 3 years. They really wanted to see me in the team. That’s why I chose New Jersey and I’m really happy to join the organization. I know they play a fast smart hockey and I like it.”
On the Florida Panthers and Adam Mascherin …
Amar Basi: Bob McKenzie on his Bobcast said that info on Adam Mascherin is not coming from his son Mike, who is the GM of the Kitchener Rangers where Mascherin plays.
Amar Basi: McKenzie thinks it could be a dangerous game that Mascherin is playing by potentially re-entering the draft and not signing with the Panthers. Players that re-enter the draft usually get drafted lower and would then get a lesser contract. In some cases, the player gets re-drafted by the same team.
Amar Basi: The Panthers did offer Mascherin an entry-level contract, a lucrative one similar to what the Blackhawks gave Alex DeBrincat. Mascherin didn’t sign the offer as he wasn’t “feeling the low” from the Panthers.
On the Arizona Coyotes …
Amar Basi: Bob McKenzie reported that Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the Coyotes are talking about an eight-year contract extension with a salary cap hit rumored to be just over $8 million.
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: A Q&A with Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet on what he thinks is their greatest roster needs.
“I’d like another center, another top-five defenseman and a scoring wing, probably in that order. I’m not saying I’m going to get them all (laughs), but those are the biggest things I see. I talked to another coach the other day and said, ‘we’d like to get a really high-end center’ and he said, ‘join the club.’ Everybody wants one. You always want to strengthen your center position.”