Andrew Brunette still waiting
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette was a Jack Adams Finalist and was loved by his players according to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
Yet, Brunette still hasn’t received an endorsement from GM Bill Zito and his future is still in limbo.
Is Zito looking at some of the available coaches like Barry Trotz, Paul Maurice, Claude Julien, Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella, Peter DeBoer, Joel Quenneville before making a final decision on Brunette?
Should the Islanders go after Kevin Fiala?
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic: Given their salary cap situation, it’s looking like the Minnesota Wild won’t be able to fit in a big, long-term contract for winger Kevin Fiala.
Wild GM Bill Guerin on Michael Russo’s podcast on a potential Fiala trade: “I’m not in it to win a trade. I want fair value for what we’re about to give up.”
The New York Islanders are one of the teams that should be speaking with Guerin. Fiala will be 26-years-old next month and would be a good fit for the Islanders. The Wild would have to move defenseman Matt Dumba to keep Fiala.
Futures is what the Wild will be looking for given their cap situation – prospects/NHL ready and likely a first-round pick. They won’t be able to take back much salary.
The Islanders have their 2022 and 2023 first-round picks. Would the Wild be interested in Oliver Wahlstrom? Anthony Beauvillier‘s $4.15 million cap hit is likely too high.
Would Wahlstrom and the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft for Fiala be enough? Would the Islanders need to include a prospect like Aatu Raty or add a second/third-round pick?
Any extension for Fiala would probably come in the $7-8 million range. The Islanders have 18 players under contract for next season at about $70.5 million. RFAs Noah Dobson and Kieffer Bellows still need new deals.
Trading forward Josh Bailey or goaltender Semyon Varlamov would clear up some cap space.
The Avalanche are on the road against the Oilers and are
-135 on the moneyline with Betway
