Marner will wait for Matthews to sign his deal
TSN: Darren Dreger said on TSN last night that Mitch Marner and his agent are committed to waiting until after Auston Matthews is signed before they get deep into contract extension talks with Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. This has been their plan since the start.
“There are some who believe that the Maple Leafs would like to get Marner done on a six-year term at $8-9 million per season. Forget about it, that’s not happening. That’s way too light and maybe the Marner camp pushes back with a four-year contract position which would walk him into free agency. That’s not going to happen either, but Marner wants to make sure he’s got fair comparables and that includes whatever the Maple Leafs sign Matthews to.”
Karlsson and the Sharks to talk after the All-Star break
TSN: LeBrun notes that Erik Karlsson isn’t eligible to sign an eight-year extension until after the trade deadline, but the sides can talk at any point. They agreed at the beginning of the year to wait on things as they familiarized with each other. It’s sounding like the Sharks and agent Don Meehan have spoken this week to set up schedule talks for after the All-Star break.
On some pending free agents ahead of the trade deadline
TSN: Pierre LeBrun says that Artemi Panarin will meet with his agent during the All-Star break and will figure out what they are going to do. They will then let the Columbus Blue Jackets know what they are thinking. The Blue Jackets may hold on to him for the season regardless of what he says.
The Buffalo Sabres will meet with Jeff Skinner‘s agent very soon.
The Ottawa Senators could be meeting with Matt Duchene and Mark Stone next week.