No contract talks between the Devils and Ryan Graves yet
James Nichols of The Fourth Period: Allain Roy, the agent for New Jersey Devils defenseman Ryan Graves, said that contract extension talks haven’t begun.
The 27-year-old pending UFA is in the final year of his three-year deal and is projecting to have a career-best 30 points. He’s played well on the second pair with John Marino.
Graves will likely be looking for a big payday as a top-four defenseman. The Devils have over $35 million in projected cap space this offseason but 13 players they’ll need to make decisions on. Jesper Bratt needs a new contract.
Defenseman Damon Severson is another player they’ll need to make a decision on. Both players don’t have any trade protection. Graves carries a $3.16 million cap hit while Severson comes in at $4.16 million.
The Blues have a few players that will generate interest
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: Teams will be wanting to see if St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly can get healthy. There should also be interest in forward Ivan Barbashev and defenseman Niko Mikkola.
Will Tarasenko waive his full no-trade clause? The Carolina Hurricanes may now have interest in a scorer with Max Pacioretty going down with another Achilles injury.
Could the Toronto Maple Leafs and/or the Colorado Avalanche be interested in O’Reilly? If the Blues aren’t going to re-sign him, they should move him.
If the Blues can’t re-sign Barbashev, then GM Doug Armstrong needs to listen to trade offers.
Would the Coyotes trade Nick Schmaltz because of his contract?
Erik Duhatschek of The Athletic: Should the Arizona Coyotes consider trading Nick Schmaltz, arguably their second-best forward? The 26-year-old will have three years left on his contract at $5.85 million. He’s a centerman but could possibly play the wing as well.
NHL Rumors: Bo Horvat, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and the Carolina Hurricanes
His salary jumps from $4.5 million to $7.5 million next year, then $8.45 million, and finishes off at $8.5 million.
Will the Coyotes want to pay that salary? Will anyone else? Even if some salary is retained, and even with a third team involved, it might be a non-starter. Will someone get creative?