- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Both Devils GM Lou Lamoreillo and owner Josh Harris say that there has been no thought of bringing back Ilya Kovalchuk. Lamoriello said that Kovalchuk is unable to return before 2018-19.
“I’ll answer that the best way you can. He cannot come back until he is 35. He’s (31) now. You’d never look at someone coming back at 35 when he’s (31),” the GM explained.
Devils Mattias Tedenby was set to play with Lev Praha of the KHL, but will now play for HV 71 of the SEL after Lev Praha ran into financial issues.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings re-signed GM Ken Holland for four more year, and he’ll talk with Mike Babcock soon.
“I talked briefly to Mike yesterday; we exchanged texts. He’s out west,” Holland said. “When he gets back to town, at training camp, we’ll sit down and talk. It’s best that he and I talk about situation when we’re face to face and both engaged in the conversation. So sometime in September, we’ll talk.”
Holland will continue to work on RFAs Danny DeKeyser’s new deal.
“We’ll find a solution. We like Dan a lot; he’s been a real good, young player for us. The hard part is trying to find what’s fair for player and for club. He’s only played 76 games, but he’s a real important part of our team. We’ll get him done.”
- Mark Divver (Providence Journal): Hearing that the Avalanche, Rangers, Bruins and Coyotes are in on Kevin Hayes when he becomes a free agent.
- Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald: The Flames are not saying much about their interest in Kevin Hayes, who played with Flames prospects Johnny Gaudreau and Bill Arnold this past season.
“I’ve heard that natural assumption for a while,” said a tight-lipped Brad Treliving on Thursday, offering a series of summer off-season updates from Flames headquarters at the Scotiabank Saddledome. “I see where people would make the connection.
“But at this point, we can’t talk about it.”
Saturday is the deadline for the Blackhawks to sign Hayes before he becomes a UFA.
“We’ll see what happens in the next day or so,” Treliving said. “Obviously, there’s still time for him to sign in Chicago, but that’s something the player would have to decide.”
- Igor Eronko: Jets prospect Alexnader Burmistrov to prosports.ru: “I will almost certainly return to #NHL; next summer will be defining”
- Dhiren Mahiban: (s/t to Valtteri Kivinen) Paul Bissonnette says on Team 1040 radio that he is close to a deal with a NHL team, but is waiting for a trade to happen before he is able to sign.