- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: If Milan Lucic was traded somewhere other than LA, he may already have a contract extension in place. Signing him now would likely cost less than signing him after this season. The Kings first priority is Anze Kopitar though, something that won’t be easy. The Kings will also have to deal with Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli after the 2016-17 season.
- Rich Hammond of the OC Register: The LA Kings have signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Ehrhoff gives the Kings some depth on the blueline with Slava Voynov’s status remaining uncertain. There is no firm timetable on Voynov’s return.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Blues Dmitrij Jaskin will compete for a spot on the top two lines that opened up with the T.J. Oshie trade. Troy Brouwer, who was acquired in the Oshie trade, could get a top six role if Jaskin isn’t ready. If Jaskin makes their top six, Brouwer could be on their third line with David Backes and Patrik Berglund.
- Robby Stanley of NHL.com: The Predators signed Barret Jackman earlier this offseason, bringing them leadership, physicality and penalty killing.
“I think this is a perfect fit for our defense,” Poile said. “He brings veteran leadership, physicality, and his biggest asset to us is that he kills penalties. In theory, he should be the first one to go out and kill penalties, and I can’t tell you how important that will be in terms of the total balance for resting a Shea Weber, a Josi in those critical areas.”
The Predators didn’t make a lot changes this offseason.
“We improved the team, first of all, by keeping the team together,” Poile said. “There has been so many changes in the last couple years, including leading into last year. I think we needed a little bit more stability than we’ve had the previous years. The previous years, we didn’t win, we didn’t make the playoffs, we needed to make some changes.”