Pending UFAs Kris Letang and Patrice Bergeron
TSN: Darren Dreger on some pending UFAs for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.
“You’ve got Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins, obviously Kris Letang, Patrice Bergeron from the Boston Bruins. What I can tell you is that there’s been ongoing talk with Kris Letang and the Pittsburgh Penguins, less so with Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins but that’s more or less by design.
Bergeron wants to focus on the season, so does Letang, but they’ve had more of a connection in Pittsburgh with the Letang camp. Slow progress on Letang, but a willingness to be more patient between Boston and Patrice Bergeron.”
Will Dylan Strome be a part of the Blackhawks future plans?
Mark Lazerus of The Athletic: Chicago Blackhawks interim coach Derek King helped forward Dylan Strome turn his season around. Since early January Strome has been recording 0.95 points-per-game while playing with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane.
Strome is a pending free agent and Kane has been saying to the media that Strome needs to be re-signed. Strome is arbitration-eligible this offseason and is owed a $3.6 million qualifying offer.
For a year and a half, Strome had his name in the rumor mill. The Blackhawks are in a rebuilding mode and one has to wonder if the 25-year old Strome is in their plans. Strome on his uncertainty about his future as a Blackhawk.
“It’s always out there. The last two years, we’ve talked about it numerous times, that it’s always out there. It’s always around. It’s something that’s in the back of your mind. I’m sure (Hagel) was caught off guard when he got traded. I think we all were. Lots of guys have talked about that. We didn’t really expect that. But when you get a return like that (two first-round picks, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk), like a lot of people have said, you kind of have to make that trade. Obviously, we’re building for the future, and whether I’m part of that or not is yet to be seen. I guess we’ll find out pretty soon. And if I am, I’ll be happy to be here and help the team as best as I can. And hopefully, we can stick with this line and see what can happen.”