On the New York Islanders and John Tavares …
Sportsnet: Nick Kypreos said on the weekend that you might have thought that the Islanders winning the bid for a new arena at Belmont Park may have been the closing piece to get a John Tavares contract extension done, but that may not be the case.
There have been no contract talks and has been told there are none scheduled in the foreseeable future, which may be bad for Islanders fans.
Tavares has said that a new arena was one of the things he was interested in knowing before signing an extension, but there are other areas as well.
says there is a feeling that he may wait this out, possibly talking after the season, but he may decide to test the market out.
Elliotte Friedman thinks that the most important thing for Tavares is if he believes that he can win in New York. They have some good young talent, and that might be the thing that convinces him to stay.
On the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings …
Maple Leafs Hot Stove: Pierre McGuire on TSN 1050 was asked if he thinks Red Wings defenseman Mike Green would be a good fit for the Maple Leafs.
“I would. He is a puck transporter. He shoots the puck as well now as when he was a youngster. He has always been an offensive catalyst going back to when he played for Saskatoon in the WHL.
I think the biggest thing is Mike (Babcock) would know how to manage him and that’s a really important part of it when you get a player like that. He’s obviously a high-octane player.
I would be encouraged but you’ve got to think the price point for that player would be pretty high as far as what Detroit would potentially want. And I think Detroit sees themselves as in the mix as a potential playoff team, so I don’t think they’re in a rush to do something that might break up what is an important part of their team.”