Could Fraser Minton crack the Leafs lineup?
Luke Fox: Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said that forward Fraser Minten has a chance of making the team.
Minnesota Wild owner already thinking Kirill Kaprizov extension
Michael Russo and Joe Smith: Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has three years left on his $9 million per season contract and isn’t eligible for an extension until July 1st of 2025. It’s already on the mind of Wild owner Craig Leipold.
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“I would be lying to you if it’s not on our minds,” Leipold said. “Kirill’s a special player and we want him to believe that we’re going to help field a Stanley Cup team. And he’s a huge part of our future, but only if he stays here.
“We have a great relationship with Kirill. I think he enjoys it here. He’s learning how to speak English now. He’s becoming more Americanized. He’s a good kid, a really good kid. And we have to make sure that when his next contract comes up, it’s going to be a long-term contract that he signs here.”
The cap will be going up by then the Zach Parise, Ryan Suter buyouts will finally be over.
It makes sense for the Hurricanes to keep Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei
Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) The Carolina Hurricanes have eight NHL defensemen in Dmitry Orlov, Tony DeAngelo, Caleb Jones, Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei.
UFAs after this season are Pesce, Skjei, DeAngelo, Jones and Chatfield. The Hurricanes don’t need to rush any decisions.
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With the Hurricanes looking to win this season, it makes sense for them to keep Pesce and Skjei. They play well together and trading one would hurt the other. They don’t have any cap issues so they could keep eight defensemen.
Pyotr Kochetkov is waiver exempt so he could be the easy decision and they go with Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta.