On the Washington Capitals …
JJ Regan: Goaltender Philipp Grubauer said he’s ready to be a starting goaltender but would be happy to return to the Capitals.
Jesse Dougherty: RFA forward Brett Connolly said that his agent has spoken with Capitals GM Brian MacLellan before the start of the playoffs about returning. Connolly said he’d love to be back and that they are a great fit despite how the playoffs went for him.
Stephen Whyno: Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is excited about free agency. Said that he’ll talk with the Capitals first but will talk to other teams. He’s intrigued by Vegas.
Isabelle Khurshudyan: Shattenkirk said that if he were to come back to the Capitals he’d want a bigger role. He wants to a be a No. 1 defenseman somewhere.
On the Dallas Stars …
Mike Heika: Think it’s possible that the Stars would be interested in defenseman Karl Alzner if he hits the open market.
On the Buffalo Sabres …
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Newly named GM Jason Botterill has some work to do.
Potential coaching candidates include Phil Housley, Todd Reirden, Kevin Dineen, Paul MacLean, Marc Crawford, Rick Tocchet, Jacques Martin, Darryl Sutter, Bob Hartley, Michel Therrien, Sheldon Keefe and Clark Donatelli.
Do they bring Brian Gionta back at a reduce rate from $4.25 million?
Cody McCormick, Cody Franson, Taylor Fedun, Anders Nilsson and Dmitry Kulikov are free agents and will new manage want to bring any of them back?
Would Botterill be interested in pending UFAs like Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Michael Stone, Trevor Daley and Michael Del Zotto?
Do they go with Robin Lehner next year or look to bring in another goaltender? Potential No. 1 goalies that could be available: Steve Mason, Jaroslav Halak, Mike Condon, Brian Elliott and Marc-Andre Fleury. Jimmy Howard is from Syracuse. During Botterill’s press conference he said.
“My first roommate in training camp here in Buffalo was Ryan Miller.”