A bridge deal for Brady?
Pierre LeBrun: A bridge contract for Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk probably makes the most sense.
Brady and his brother Matthew use the same agency – Newport Sports. Two years ago Matthew signed a three-year contract with an AAV of $7 million.
Sabres goaltending
John Vogl: Buffalo Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said that they will go with Carter Hutton for now while Linus Ullmark is out.
Jonas Johansson will be the Sabres backup for now but wonders if after the weekend they start looking on the trade market to see who is available.
Money in, money out for any Stars trade
Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News: Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill said that they think Roope Hintz will end up coming in and out the lineup all season because of a lower-body injury. Nill added that Hintz will play through it and that he can’t injure it further.
The Stars are already without center Tyler Seguin, who is scheduled to return in early April.
Nill when asked if he’ll look on the trade market for a center.
“You don’t go on the market and find a Roope Hintz,” Nill said. “To find a Roope Hintz or Tyler Seguin, everybody’s looking for those guys every day. We’ve just got to deal with it.”
The Stars don’t have a lot of salary cap room, so it limits what they could potentially add.
“We’re not going to have a lot of room unless it’s dollar in, dollar out,” Nill said.
The Stars could consider trying to include defenseman Jamie Oleksiak and his $2.137 million cap hit. He’s in the last year of his deal.
Will the Maple Leafs be forced to re-sign Andersen?
Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: At this point in their careers, it’s hard to argue that Jack Campbell would be an upgrade or a replacement for Frederik Andersen. Andersen is in the last year of his deal.
Other pending UFA goaltenders include Pekka Rinne, Jordan Binnington and Tuukka Rask. Are they upgrades over Andersen? Rinne is 37 years old. Rask is 34 years old. It’s hard to see the St. Louis Blues allowing the 27-year old Binnington hit free agency.
If the Maple Leafs lose in the first round again and if it’s partially Andersen’s fault, they may have no choice to look somewhere else. Given what could be available, the Maple Leafs may have no choice but to re-sign him.