On the Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks and the Salary Cap …
Joe Pack of Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman said that the Avalanche are just one of the teams looking looking to improve their defense.
“Tyson Barrie‘s future there is not that certain but I don’t think want to trade him until they can add some help,” said Friedman. “I believe one of the targets is Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba. I’m not saying Winnipeg’s going to do it, but I think
that’s a player Colorado would like to get its hands on.”
The Coyotes are another team looking to add to their defense as they only have two players under contract. Teams are inquiring about Martin Hanzal.
“Some teams have asked about ,” said Friedman. “They’re going to talk about a contract extension but they’ve also asked to find out his list of teams he would be willing to go to.”
The Ducks have shown some interest in Dale Hunter (London OHL) for their coaching vacancy.
Friedman notes that if the players don’t use the escalator, the salary cap could go below $70 million.
On the St. Louis Blues …
Craig Custance of ESPN: Blues GM Doug Armstrong on RFA forward Jaden Schwartz.
“I’d like to see if we can get something done on a longer term,” Armstrong said of Schwartz talks. “The difference with Jaden’s situation now than a couple years ago, there’s a finite time to negotiate. After a certain date, one of the two of us will select arbitration.”
If they went to arbitration, the Blues could get him at under $5 million, with the Blues using Colin Wilson ($3.9 million), Craig Smith ($4.25 million) or Gustav Nyquist ($4.75 million) as comparables. Schwartz is better than those players though.
A deal similar to Derek Stepan‘s might work – six years at a $6.5 million cap hit.
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
Rob Mixer of BlueJackets.NHL: (mailbag) Don’t think that the Blue Jackets will bring Rene Bourque back next season. They will bring in depth from somewhere else. They should have several internal candidates from the AHL looking to make the jump.
Would be a bit of a surprise if Zach Werenski wasn’t playing with the Blue Jackets next season.
The Blue Jackets have several options at No. 3 – keep the pick, trade down and acquire some extra assets or trade the pick for immediate help. Trading the pick outright would the likely be the least likely scenario.