No updates on Duchene/Stone talks with the Senators … Would the Jets be interested?
TSN: There is nothing new to report on talks between the Ottawa Senators and pending free agents Matt Duchene and Mark Stone according to Bob McKenzie.
Senators GM Pierre Dorion is expected to talk with Duchene’s agent Pat Brisson in the next day or two and over the next few weeks.
The rental market could include some pretty good players this year: Duchene, Stone, Artemi Panarin, Wayne Simmonds, Micheal Ferland and Derick Brassard.
Darren Dreger says the Winnipeg Jets may be a team watching what happens with Duchene and Stone. The Jets are looking for forwards, maybe a bottom-six guy, or they could swing big for Winnipeg native Mark Stone.
The Panthers are believed to be interested in both Panarin and Bobrovsky
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said he’s been told that there have been several contenders that have reached out to the Columbus Blue Jackets about Artemi Panarin to see what the asking would be.
The Florida Panthers are believed to have an interest in both Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky if/when they become free agents July 1st. The Panthers may be a team to keep an eye ahead of the deadline on this. ** LeBrun made note of this last night and ahead of the Panthers trade with the Penguins **
Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek were talking about pending UFA Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky on their 31 Thoughts: The Podcast.
Marek says that the Florida Panthers would be a sneaky/stealth candidate for both.
“I just think that’s a place both of them would be willing to go,” surmised Friedman of the Panthers. “I think that’s a team that’s going to need a jolt. They missed the playoffs a couple of years in a row after getting there. The biggest issue they’ve had is goaltending, and not because Roberto Luongo isn’t game – it’s simply because his body isn’t there anymore.”
The Panthers may need to move some guys around. ** Again, comments made before the trade today **
“But I can see that organization saying, ‘We need to change things up. We need a breath of fresh air.’ And those two guys can bring it. And I think they’d both play there.”