Taylor Hall taking a relaxed approach to a contract extension
Mike Morreale of NHL.com: New Jersey is letting Taylor Hall soak in all the information before he even thinks of a contract extension.
“There is no formal meeting planned at this moment, but that’s not a red flag … that’s just how we’ve been doing things, and Taylor is the same way,” Shero said. “We will have more formal meetings later in the summer.”
Again, all is quiet and standard business for Ray Shero and Taylor Hall.
Rob Blake on draft, qualifying offers, free agency
Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider: Again, there were no surprises on qualifying offers. Arthur Kaliev became a must pick at 33 because of the goal-scoring ability.
Brendan Leipsic news may happen mid-week and any contract news will be finished eventually.
It appears Los Angeles will not chase much if anything in free agency. Getting the defense and forwards in place is more of a priority than looking at the market.
Offseason scenarios loom for Minnesota Wild
Michael Russo of The Athletic: Minnesota knows now that free agency will be a tough road. Building through the draft and trades is much more practical. However, ownership wants the playoffs. Striking out is realistic for the Wild.
Jason Zucker‘s ten teams no-trade kick in on July 1st and a window exists now.
No Minnesota player is untouchable — even Zach Parise.
Then, there is Jared Spurgeon. Paul Fenton wants to extend him but Spurgeon has more value than any Minnesota player. The next week is extremely crucial.
Michael Russo of The Athletic (mailbag): Matthew Boldy expects to play at Boston University for a few years before joining Iowa (AHL) or Minnesota.
Paul Fenton caught between a rock and a hard place. It is hard to do anything if your locale is not desirable for free agents and have players expecting change.
Jared Spurgeon extension talks are going slow as expected.
Also, Jason Zucker may not be traded until Fenton knows one way or the other if he could sign free agent Anders Lee or not. The problem is if no moves are made, Lee may not have a spot in Minnesota anyway.