On the Anaheim Ducks …
John Buccigross: Hearing that candidates who were being considered for the Ducks head coaching position are being informed that the Ducks will be hiring Randy Carlyle.
Darren Dreger: Expect the Ducks to names Randy Carlyle as their head coach .
On the Calgary Flames …
Darren Dreger: Glen Gulutzan is believed to be the front runner for the Calgary Flames head coaching position.
Matthew Sekeres: Hearing that Canucks assistant coach Glen Gulutzan is a finalist for the Flames coaching vacancy. He has had at least two interviews.
Ben Kuzma: The Flames are close to naming their new coach, with Gulutzan a serious contender.
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: There is talk around the league that the Columbus Blue Jackets could be willing to move down in the draft as they are looking for a center.
GM Jarmo Kekalainen said that he’s had at least to trade offers that involved the No. 3 pick.
“I’ve had phone calls; I’ve had (other GMs) ask me if we’d move the pick,” Kekalainen said. “And I’ve already had a couple of really good offers. Aggressive offers. Fair offers. But nothing yet that’s made me really consider moving it.”
Kekalainen added that it would take a big offer to move the pick.
If they are looking for centers, they could be considering Logan Brown, Clayton Keller and maybe Pierre-Luc Dubois.
If the Blue Jackets hold on to the No. 3 pick and draft Jesse Puljajarvi, look for Boone Jenner to move to center.
The Blue Jackets need to create some extra cap space. They have $5 million in projected cap space, and they need to sign Seth Jones and William Karlsson. Don’t expect the Blue Jackets to use the No. 3 pick in a package to create some cap relief.
