On the Ottawa Senators …
Amir Basu: Darren Dreger on the Senators: “Hockey people are talking about it so I will pass it along, some believe Melnyk relishes the opportunity to get to the cap floor and just see how things go, there is no sense in spending and wasting money if you are not going to be a contending team.”
Travis Yost: If the Senators are not able to sign Erik Karlsson to an extension, hard to see the Vegas Golden Knights not being able to make a deal. The Golden Knights have the assets and the cap space to get it down.
Travis Yost: Note that the Knights could be out-bid by another team, but that would be them not wanting to give up more.
On the St. Louis Blues and Ottawa Senators …
Jeremy Rutherford: Blues GM Doug Armstrong on Mike Hoffman: “We understood the situation. We talked to Ottawa, we talked to the people involved in the situation and felt that until more information was available, we weren’t comfortable making a decision.”
On the Edmonton Oilers …
Ryan Rishaug: Signing restricted free agent defenseman Darnell Nurse to an extension is on GM Peter Chiarelli’s to-do list. They need to decide if they’ll go the bridge deal or a long-term contract. Giving the Oilers salary cap situation, thinks a bridge deal is the way to go.
On the Detroit Red Wings …
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings won’t be offering Martin Frk a qualifying offer of $715,000. Frk has arbitration rights and if it went to arbitration, it could have been more.
It is possible that the Red Wings could still send Frk an offer. He could also test of free agency to see what options are there. The Dallas Stars might be one option as his former Grand Rapids coach Todd Nelson is on their coaching staff.
The Red Wings and pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Mike Green have held some talks.