On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Sam Carchidi: Wouldn’t be a surprise if the Flyers signed Jonathan Bernier. Keith Kinkaid could be a dark horse.
David Pagnotta: Sounding like Michael Del Zotto won’t be back with the Flyers next year. He received plenty of interest yesterday.
On the Edmonton Oilers …
Jim Matheson: Wonder if during the free agent interview period if the Oilers will speak with centers Nick Bonino, Brian Boyle or Derek Ryan.
Jim Matheson: If the Oilers are looking for a cheaper, veteran depth defenseman, the pickings are slim. Would they be interested in right handed Michael Stone?
On the Ottawa Senators …
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Senators GM Pierre Dorion planned to speak with his own free agents over the weekend including UFAs Mike Condon, Viktor Stalberg, Tommy Wingels and Tom Pyatt.
“I’ve made some calls, quickly. Through this week a lot of agents are here and I’m hoping to meet a few and hoping to make progress on Pyatt, Stalberg, Wingels and Condon,” said Dorion as he prepared for Round 1 of the draft Friday night.”
If Dorion is unable to re-sign Condon, Andrew Hammond could be their backup.
One of Dorion’s priorities is to re-sign RFA Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Ryan Dzingel (RFA) didn’t finish the year strong and shouldn’t be too difficult to re-sign.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: The Lightning traded center Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, but the unrestricted free agent is interested in returning to Tampa Bay.
“We love Tampa,” Boyle told the Times. “If Tampa wanted to work out a deal, that’s definitely a huge option for us. That’s something that I’ve kind of always thought about. I haven’t closed the door on anything.”
The Lightning are looking for a top-nine winger or two. Boyle is a natural center but did play some wing for the Lightning.
The Lightning weren’t one of the first group of teams that contacted Boyle yesterday.