- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: The heavyweight fighters may be on the decline, and pending UFA tough guys may be on their last contract: Shawn Thorton, John Scott, Michael Haley, George Parros, Mike Rupp, Cam Janssen, Steve MacIntyre, Ben Eager, Paul Bissonnette and Kevin Westgarth.
Bruins Johnny Boychuk is in the last year of his contact and it could be his final year with the Bruins as he could get more than $5 million on the open market. The Bruins may not have the money to give him.
The Penguins have some big contracts to deal and it may be hard for them to re-sign Paul Martin after next season or to bring in some support for their bottom six.
Shinzawa thinks it would be a mistake for the Leafs to trade Dion Phaneuf.
The Blue Jackets will have no choice but to match any offer sheet for Ryan Johansen. Teams like the Sabres, Canadiens and Maple Leafs could use a No. 1 center.
The Red Wings could use a right-handed, puck-moving defenseman like Dan Boyle.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: The Avalanche and Paul Stastny have yet to hold contract talks, but they are expected to happen soon. Stastny’s agent did speak with the Avs just before the trade deadline and told them they wanted to wait until the season was over.The Avalanche will be interested pending UFA Dan Boyle.
Dater thinks Seattle will have an expansion team within the next three years.