- Craig Custance of ESPN: Nathan MacKinnon will be a restricted free agent after the season, and his next contract will help set a market for the future contract for Connor McDavid when his entry level deal is up in three years. The Avalanche and MacKinnon have been talking extension, but a deal is not close as of yet. A seven-year deal around $6 million would make sense.Erik Johnson will be a UFA at the end of the season. Contract talks are inching along, and Custance thinks a deal will get done. He could get a seven- or eight-year deal.
The Oilers recently gave Oscar Klefbom a new long-term contract. The next RFA defenseman to get a long-term deal could be Olli Maatta. Seth Jones is another one to watch, though tough to project partly due to Shea Weber. Jones’ may be better off signing a five-year deal.
The Blackhawks signed Michal Rozsival to a one-year deal, and it might block Jan Hejda (PTO) from making the team.
- Terry Frei of the Denver Post: On Friday, Erik Johnson said he won’t be talking about his contract situation during the season.
“It’s my desire to stay here, but it has to work for both sides and I’m all for working with the team and trying to fit into the structure. I’m not out to get something over my value on the market. I’m going to work with them and I hope they work with me and we can get something done.”
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Senators: Senators GM Bryan Murray said again that he wants to find a top-six forward – either by trade or in camp. Murray said that he talked to UFAs and tried to make some trades during the offseason but was unsuccessful.
“Hopefully someone here can take that spot or part way through the year, if we have to, go looking hard and make a big deal to get that type of player,” said Murray.
Assistant GM Pierre Dorion on Senators drafting Thomas Chabot and Colin White and passing on 67’s Travis Konency.
“We liked (Konency) and there was some consideration,” Dorion said. “We wanted to take a defenceman (Chabot) with our first pick and he was too tough to pass on. We felt that was a position we needed to address. When it came to our second pick, it was between White, Konecny and another player, and we just felt with the character and versatility of Colin White this was a guy that we felt we had to bring into Ottawa.”