Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Hockey Central when asked if we are going to start getting some real hockey news going soon.
** NHLrumors.com transcription
“Yeah, I do think so. You know it started, Philadelphia re-signed Philippe Myers to a three-year deal on Tuesday night. You know one of the things that is interesting is that the NHLPA did propose when they were talking about this, is having a slight lift to the salary cap. Not for this season but $500,000 next season and an additional $500,000 the year after. The NHL wouldn’t go for that.
So, the cap is going to be tight, and Dave, there is a chance the cap might not raise for a good chunk, if at all during this CBA. Teams are bracing for it.
So, I think it’s going to be tight. Now, the names you’re going to hear – Andreas Athanasiou, Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund. Granlund apparently kind of wants to situate his family, so he’s getting close, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he made his decision in the next few days, and I think there are a number of guys who want to do that.
I’ve been told the action has picked up, and I think the one team I really believe is going to benefit the most out of all this, is going to be Seattle. I think you’re going to see some teams start to talk to Seattle about what they are going to be willing to do to create cap room in the future.”
Chris Johnston continued with:
“Keep an eye on the RFA market as well Elliotte. With the Myers deal done in Philadelphia, you’ve got Ethan Bear in Edmonton, Oliver Kylington in Calgary, Erik Cernak down in Tampa. A few other UFA defensemen that I think will have various impacts after that deal has been signed.”