- Jason Kay via twitter: The NHL has officially let the NHLPA know they are terminating the CBA on Sept. 15th. Talks are expected to start after the draft. Liz Mullen via twitter: A source said that one side must let the other side know if they want to make changes to a CBA 120 days before it expires.
- Ben Kuzma via twitter: With a possible lockout looming, the fall prospects tournament for Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Jets in B.C. has been cancelled.
- Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison will be a UFA on July 1st, and will be looking for a nice raise from the $675,000 he made this past season. He’d like to re-sign with the Panthers, and they are saying the right things, but their priorities list may lie with Kris Versteeg and bolstering their offense. Garrison is from BC, and may hope the Canucks are interested:
“It’s always nice to be wanted and if that’s the case and you have a quality that they like, obviously it’s my hometown team and I grew up watching them play,” said Garrison, who played with Canucks winger Mason Raymond at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. “My friends and family are big Canuck fans and would love to see me play at home but you’ve got to be the right fit for a team. You want to be able to contribute.”
Cap space for the Canucks would depend on a Roberto Luongo deal, and the re-signing of Cory Schneider. They need a top 6 forward, a 3rd line center and a top 4 defenseman. Sami Salo and Aaron Rome are UFAs, Marc-Andre Gragnani is a RFA.
- Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel: The door is still open for Scott Clemmensen to return to the Panthers next season with Jose Theodore, and that GM Dale Tallon would like to Jacob Markstrom to spend a full year in the AHL. Fialkov doesn’t sense they will bring back Marco Sturm, John Madden or Wojtek Wolski. Mikael Samuelsson and Krys Barch are possibilities. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden will be given every opportunity to make the Panthers next season. Alex Petrovic and Colby Robak will likely start next year in the AHL. Keaton Ellerby and possibly Shawn Matthias could be packaged to move up in the draft.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins GM Ray Shero isn’t about to give up on the 3-center model that helped them win the Cup in 2009. Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby have 1 year left on their deals, Evgeni Malkin has 2.
“I’d like to do that, if possible,” he said. “We’re looking at hopefully getting extensions with .”
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Garrioch lists the top 5 free agent targets for the Senators. 1. Zach Parise 2. Chris Kelly 3. Bryan Allen 4. David Jones 5. Jiri Hudler.
- 106.7 The Fan Audio: Alexander Semin’s agents talks about the Capitals and Semin.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Responding to Todd Cordell’s question, Chesnokov thinks Semin will end up “somewhere west.”
- Ansar Khan of MLive: Zach Parise will be the Red Wings top goal scoring priority, but if they can’t land him, Khan wonders if they should look at Alexander Semin? Would his motivation increase playing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg?
- David Pollak via twitter: New reports are saying that Todd McLellan is coming back as the Sharks coach, but likely with new assistants.