On Matt Martin …
Craig Custance: Martin will do well in free agency and will get more money than people might think.
Arthur Staple of Newsday: Martin is prepared for free agency, though he still hopes a deal could get done with the Islanders.
“Obviously there’s a lot of thoughts that go through your head,” Martin told Newsday. “As the time ticks away here, you wonder what’s in store for you and your future. You still hope something can get done , but it’s a business. I never thought it would get this far, but this is how these things go.”
Martin has been asking for $3 million a year for four years, and the Islanders weren’t comfortable with that.
Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Bruins, Kings, Flames and Rangers have reached out to Martin’s camp.
“It’s not a situation where I want to leave, I’d hope they want to keep me as well, but it’s just how the business works,” he said. “I don’t like to hold a lot of grudges.”
On the Anaheim Ducks …
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Darren Dreger on TSN 690 talking about the high cost of Cam Fowler at the draft, and now that a trade didn’t happen, how will it impact the asking price now.
“Yeah, I think the asking price has to come down a little bit. But I think it’s also important to note we get into these runs of semantics where the player is being shopped/isn’t being shopped. He’s available/He’s in play. All of that.
“Cam Fowler was a tradable asset, but the Ducks will tell you they weren’t really pushing him. Well, come on. He’s out there. He’s in play. And you’re tendering offers on him.
“But the asking price, because they weren’t able to acquire the pick that they were looking for, has to come down to some degree. But the Ducks are also a team that’s looking for a top-6, worst-case a top-9, forward. I don’t know that there’s that type of a fit in Montreal. Maybe there is. But if there is, then that might be something that those two teams could work on.”
Blues GM Doug Armstrong was, and Dreger thinks still is, asking for the moon for Kevin Shattenkirk. Once one defenseman is moved, the market could reset.