Leafs never spoke to Thornton about bringing him back
Steve Simmonds of the Toronto Sun: The Toronto Maple Leafs never informed Joe Thornton that they had any intention of bringing him back for the 2021-22 season.
A Barkov extension before the season starts?
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov has a year left on his contract.
Panthers GM Bill Zito when asked if there is a date that if Barkov isn’t extended by if they would consider trading him: “I’m confident we’ll be able to work something out.”
Zito added that a Barkov will “probably” have a contract extension before the start of the 2022-22 season.
Mark Gandler, Barkov’s agent would not comment on the contract extension talks.
Should the Minnesota Wild consider a rebuild?
James O’Brien of NBC Sports: Should the Minnesota Wild enter a rebuild as they maybe heading towards another bubble playoff season? It’s not an easy sell for them.
Though it wouldn’t sit well with fans, should they see if they could get a huge return for Kirill Kaprizov? He’s the type of player that fans have been craving for.
If the Wild aren’t sold on forward Kevin Fiala, wouldn’t it make sense to look to move him?
Defenseman Matt Dumba has two years left on his deal at $6 million per season. When looking at what defensemen have been getting lately, it may be too “cost-prohibitive to keep him.”
Top remaining restricted free agents
There are 14 Restricted Free Agents unsigned who scored 20+ Points 20-21.
Check them out on the PuckPedia Player Dashboard:Kaprizov
Svechnikov
Hughes
Tkachuk
Batherson
Beauvillier
Hronek
Dahlin
Tolvanen
Mittelstadt
Dube
Pettersson
Yamamoto
Kotkaniemihttps://t.co/H0hqeKW1rz— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) August 16, 2021