The Flyers and Konecny nearing a deal?
Jason Myrtetus: Have spoken with someone who is in the know with regards to the Philadelphia Flyers and RFA Travis Konecny, and was told that a deal could be very close.
It will likely be a bridge deal, two or three years with a cap hit around $4.5 million.
Contract talks with RFA defenseman Ivan Provorov appear to be stalled, as it is with the majority of the RFA market. Agents/players don’t want to be the first to sign and are playing the waiting game.
Gardiner won’t talk about his FA situation
Steve Simmons: Spoke with Jake Gardiner on Saturday and he wouldn’t talk on or off the record about his current situation. He wouldn’t take any questions about his free agent status.
It would have been “disastrous” for the Wild
James (Accout4hockey): Michael Russo said on KFAN 100.3 late last week that the trade offer that then Minnesota Wild GM Paul Fenton received for Zach Parise would have been “disastrous” for the Wild.
Russo said he can’t break the trust of sources and say the players name, but it would have a been a one-for-one deal and the Wild would have had to retain salary.
What will the Penguins do with Schultz?
Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz is entering the final year of his contract and carries a $5.5 million salary cap hit.
With the Penguins likely in another salary cap crunch next offseason with pending free agents like Matt Murray, Alex Galchenyuk and Jared McCann, will the Penguins have Schultz in their future plans?
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford has a history of trading players who are in the last year of their deals to make in-season upgrades.
Schultz is a right-handed, top-four puck moving defenseman – something that isn’t easy to find. They likely won’t be able to afford him, but as a team trying to win now, it wouldn’t be easy to replace him this season.
There is an off chance that he would be willing to sign a team friendly extension with the Penguins.
The most likely outcome is that he’ll be traded during the season.