Will DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports: Matt Niskanen will meet with his agent, Neil Sheehy, next week to go over their free agent strategy. A source believes that Niskanen could be interested in the Red Wings, and vise versa. Niskanen is expected to get multiple offers at over $5 million, maybe pushing over $6 million. His first choice would be to re-sign with the Penguins, but the Wings could be high up his list. Before he was fired, Ray Shero had been having contract talks with Niskanen’s camp. It’s not known if an official offer was made, but it was believed to be under $3.75 million on a long-term deal, which wasn’t close.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Senators originally looked at Ales Hemsky as a pure rental player, but they liked what they saw. Since he’s not looking to take a pay cut from his $5.5 million, it doesn’t look like he’ll be back. The Senators didn’t even bother making Hemsky a counter-offer. Including Jason Spezza’s $7 million salary cap hit, the Senators sit at about $50 million for 19 players for next season. The cap floor is expected to be around $51 million, with the Senators sitting around $56 – $57 million. Pending UFA Ryan Callahan could be a nice fit in Ottawa.
Renaud Lavoie: The Lightning and Ryan Callahan are still talking about a contract extension.
Adrian Dater: Serious talks between the Avalanche and Paul Stastny likely won’t start until June 20th. Agents like to wait in an attempt to gain some leverage.
News 1130 Sports: Pending RFA Zac Dalpe’s agent, Stephen Bartlett, briefly spoke with Canucks GM Jim Benning at the draft combine last week. Bartlett expects that he’ll know more in the next week or so about Dalpe’s future with the Canucks.
News 1130 Sports: Pending RFA Jordan Schroeder’s agent, Neil Sheehy, said he’ll talk with the Canucks next week. There have been no contract talks as of yet. To retain his rights, the Canucks would need to qualify him by June 28th.
