On the Los Angeles Kings and Anze Kopitar …
- Jon Rosen: A LA Kings Hockey Ops executive said that Anze Kopitar will sign his contract extension today.
On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
- Pierre LeBrun: Believe the Maple Leafs were among the teams that were trying hard to sign Artem Panarin this past offseason.
- Platinum Seat Ghosts: Nick Kypreos on possible Maple Leafs moves: “I think they’re… going to entertain all aspects of it, & Kadri might be the shiniest piece they have right now”
- Platinum Seat Ghosts: Kypreos said that Kadri wouldn’t be a good fit in a trade for Jonathan Drouin as Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is looking for someone younger.
On the Minnesota Wild …
- Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press: Wild management and scouts are meeting in Florida to talk draft and potential trades. GM Chuck Fletcher seems determined to add some offense.
“You only get so many opportunities to try and improve your team,” Fletcher said.
“At this time of year, what we try to do is take stock of where we’re at, not just where we sit in the standings, but what are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? Where do we need to improve as an organization?” Fletcher said. “That’s the focus of these meetings. There will be good dialogue.”
The Wild signed defenseman Jared Spurgeon to a five year deal last month. Fletcher has acknowledge their depth on the blueline gives them added flexibility.
Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba or Marco Scandella could be the most logical options on the blueline.
“It’s a good time of the year where you can just step back and kind of decompress a little bit, and really look at the big picture to see where you’re at — and on the one hand how far we’ve come, but on the other hand how far we still need to improve to get to where we want,” Fletcher said.