On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
Andy Graziano: There are upwards of five to seven teams that have some level of interested in Maple Leafs winger Matt Martin. The New York Islanders and New York Rangers are two of the teams.
David Pagnotta: The Maple Leafs still have a couple things going on in the free agent and trade front.
The Maple Leafs have some interest in free agent defenseman Calvin de Haan.
They are exploring the trade market for wingers Matt Martin and Josh Leivo.
On the San Jose Sharks …
Paul Gackle of The Mercury News: There was a report that the Sharks had offered John Tavares a contract at over $13 million per season.
GM Doug Wilson wasn’t able to land any of Ilya Kovalchuk, Paul Stastny and James van Riemsdyk, and they probably weren’t that interested in any of the remaining free agents.
“When we came into this year’s UFA market, there was probably three top UFAs: John Tavares, Evander Kane and John Carlson,” Wilson said. “We signed one of them and we took a swing at another one.”
The Sharks are still talking to UFA defenseman Dylan DeMelo, who they chose not to qualify.
The Sharks still have plenty of salary cap space and will continue their search for a “difference maker” up front. They could also hold pat if nothing good materializes this offseason and see what comes available in-season.
Potential trade targets for the Sharks could be Artemi Panarin, Max Pacioretty, and Jeff Skinner.
GM Wilson said they aren’t going to chase a move just because they have some cap space.
“You can’t chase players,” Wilson said. “But trust me, we will explore everything to make (our team) better. If it’s now, next week, early in the season or any time around the trade deadline, we have the cap space to be able to do that.”