If the Maple Leafs hadn’t hired Babcock years ago…
Pierre LeBrun: If the Buffalo Sabres had been able to hire Mike Babcock instead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Maple Leafs would have hired Guy Boucher.
The four NHL teams in on Melnichuk could include….
Darren Dreger: (as of last week) KHL Goaltender Alexei Melnichuk had his list down to four U.S. based NHL teams.
Russian Prospects: Russian reports have the teams interested in Melnichuk as the San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Colorado Avalanche.
Offseason questions for each team in the Atlantic
Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet: Looking at some offseason questions for teams in the Atlantic Division.
Boston Bruins – Will pending free agents Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara be back next season? The salary cap being stagnant won’t make things easy for the Bruins.
Buffalo Sabres – Will there be a change at the GM position? Another disappointing season has Jason Botterill on the hot seat. They could look that the free agent market to help solve some issues in net.
Detroit Red Wings – Anthony Mantha will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and they should try to sign him long-term. If they can’t sign him long-term, they could look to trade him for a piece or two that fits into their long terms plans.
Florida Panthers – Aside from Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, anyone else could be available. Mike Hoffman, Erik Haula and Evgenii Dadonov are pending UFAs.
Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens need to upgrade the left side of their blue line. GM Marc Bergevin needs to make the playoffs next season. Could they move pending RFA Max Domi to fix their issues.
Ottawa Senators – The Senators have three first-round picks this year and should keep the first two. They have seven second-round picks in the next two drafts. They should look to move some of the picks for a player or two who is under-25 and in need of change of scenery.
Tampa Bay Lightning – One of their second-tier forwards may need to be moved to fit in Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s raise and the new deals that Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak will need.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Tyson Barrie is a pending UFA and the Leafs may have to look outside to improve their blue line. The free agent market doesn’t really have any enticing right-handed defensemen, especially if the St. Louis Blues re-sign Alex Pietrangelo.