- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Brandon Prust would like to re-sign with the Rangers, and they would like to re-sign him, but there is a gap that may see him test the free agent market. The sides are still open to talking and he could still re-sign before July 1st. It’s believed there is maybe a $1 million gap over a 3 year deal. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson is holding tight to his high price for Rick Nash, and the Rangers are no closer to a deal than they were at the trade deadline.
- Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren on James van Riemsdyk:
“I just assumed, when we made the announcement at the end of the year, that’s the way we were going to go,” Holmgren explained Monday. “And after , we decided to go the way we’re going now. We wanted what’s best for James. There’s an area of concern that’s been identified and we’re just going to move forward right now and deal with it.”
After a press conference on Monday, Holmgren said that van Riemsdyk has a “tremendous future” and then added “He’s our player?…?right now.” The Flyers are said to be in on Nash, with names often mentioned going to Columbus are van Riemsdyk, Sean Couturier, Sergei Bobrovsky and maybe the Flyers 1st round pick. Seravalli thinks Nash’s contract ($7.8 million till 2018) is a risky proposition. Seravalli thinks the Flyers would be better served to go after Bobby Ryan.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said he’s keeping an eye on the Rick Nash discussions.
“(Trade talk) ramps up right now because the draft picks available on Friday and Saturday,” he said. “Specifically to this year, it’s a function of a shallow pool of free agents. You’ve got teams that may not delve into free agency that are trying to be proactive. They’re trying to acquire guys prior to free agency, because when the pool is shallow, prices get pretty high.”
- Randy Sportak via twitter: Flames GM Jay Feaster said the report out of Edmonton that the Flames won’t let the Oilers talk to Brent Sutter until June 30th is “NOT true.”