On the Dallas Stars …
Mike Heika: If the Dallas Stars trade for a defenseman, one of Patrik Nemeth or Jamie Oleksiak could be a part of that trade.
On the Los Angeles Kings …
Dennis Bernstein: There are no takers for Dustin Brown‘s contract and he’ll currently fit into their top-six.
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
Rob Mixer: Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said that contract talks with Seth Jones are “ongoing” and that he is confident that they will get a deal done.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: GM Kekalainen has said they’ve received at least 10 trade offers for the third overall pick in the draft. He’s indicated he may be willing to move the pick.
“If we pick at three, we’ll get a great player,” Kekalainen said. “If we move down, we’re going to take a player that we feel is going to be as good — or nearly as good — as we would have gotten at three.
“If we move down, it’s not that we’re going to settle for a much lesser of a player by doing it. We feel that the top of the draft is so good that, if we’re going to move back, we’re probably not going to move back very much.”
He has offers on the table to move down, and he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to move out of the top 10.
“We’re getting some serious and real offers right now,” Kekalainen said, noting the difference between two GMs making proposals and having a hard, on-the-table offer. “We’re making sure we have them all lined up so that we can compare them and see what the best one is and whether it’s worth consideration.
“I’ve talked to every team in the top 10. We’ve got their interest in what they want to do. We have a pretty good idea for what everybody’s intentions are, what it might take and what they might offer if they want to move up to three.”
If they move the pick, it would only happen after the Maple Leafs and Jets make their selections.
