On the Los Angeles Kings …
- John Hoven of Mayors Manor: Kings GM Dean Lombardi said he’s had some contract talks with all of their pending free agents.
“We started after Kopitar was done, and staying within that framework and then trying to sign a number of guys — not just Looch, but a number — because it’s all making them fit, right? If Looch wants this, then maybe give him more term so I can get this guy, who takes less term. The only risk to that is, you don’t want players distracted, because that can happen. They worry about it a little and what to do. “Should I take it or not take it?” So we’ve erred on the side of let’s open discussions here, because in the long run, particularly with these guys that you expect to `fit’ in your plan, you have those discussions. Then other guys that you haven’t opened up yet, you want to get through these guys because you want to move to the next guy. So, as you guys know, it’s very hard to answer your questions in a sound bite, because there’s so much more, but that’s pretty much it.”
On the Nashville Predators …
- Thomas Willis and Brooks Bratten of Predators.NHL: Predators GM David Poile on the trade deadline.
“At past trading deadlines, I think we’ve been very aggressive; we’ve made lots of trades and high-end trades and traded our first picks, second picks, and sometimes, honestly, I think we’ve overshot the mark and probably hurt our chemistry,” the franchise’s lifelong GM said Tuesday. “This year, one of the main reasons I didn’t feel that kind of trade was necessary was because we have a young player at Harvard in Jimmy Vesey.”
So they’ve kept a roster spot open for Vesey and will insert him into the lineup. Now all they have to do is to sign him when his college season is over.
“Whenever Harvard’s season is over, we look forward to signing Jimmy and bringing him on our team, and I think that’s going to be a great boost for our team at the perfect time of the season.”