- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Flyers big need is a No. 1 defenseman, but due to their salary cap issues, GM Ron Hextall said that player would have to come from within. Top prospects on their blueline include Sam Morin, Travis Sanheim and Shayne Gostisbehere. Hextall said he would have have to give up:
“a half-dozen pieces away” to get a first-pair defenseman and that he wasn’t going to do it. “We’re going to build from within.”
The Flyers won’t be getting older next year.
“I can assure you, I’m not going to trade young players for 30-year-olds,” he said. “Not happening.”
Hextall said it shouldn’t be difficult to get pending RFA Michael Del Zotto re-signed. Hextall also hopes to re-sign Ryan White (UFA) and Brandon Manning (RFA).
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Tim Murray knows that his team wants to win and that it’s possible that they won’t have the chance to draft Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.
“I’m just taking this that whatever happens, happens,” Murray said Wednesday on WGR-AM 550. “If we pick 1, we’ll be ready to pick 1. If we finish the year strong here and we’re not picking 1,” he paused then added, “that’s kind of my attitude. Whatever’s put in front of you, you deal with it and you make the best of it.
“Our scouts have not just watched Eichel and McDavid. They’ve been all over the world watching numerous very good players.
“Those two guys are pretty special, obviously, but whatever happens, happens. If we’re picking three, if we’re picking five, we’re going to get a good player. It may change what we have to do in the summertime, and that’s what’s great about this game. You get curveballs thrown at you. If you can’t hit a curveball in baseball, you can’t play in the pros.”
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Penguins are dressing 17 skaters, 12 forwards and 5 defense. Due to being too close to the salary cap ceiling, they don’t have room at the moment to add someone. Because there are less than 10 games remaining, they can’t put anyone on the LTIR to create extra space. If Christian Ehrhoff isn’t ready to return on Saturday and they are still at 17 skaters, there can use an emergency recall, but the player must make $650,000 or less. Taylor Chorney could be the player they recall.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Blues coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have contract for next season. This is Hitchcock’s fourth season with the Blues, and they have only gotten out of the first round once in the past three seasons. Questions will surround the future of the coaching staff and some players if they don’t advance a little deeper this year.
“There’s always going to be a question for players and coaches until we win a first round. But it’s a question I’m not afraid to answer,” Hitchcock said. “I don’t know the answer right now but this team is built to go long in series, long in games. We’ve won a lot of games late. We’ve been at our best in the second and third periods. We know we can go the distance. Like everyone else I won’t know until it plays out but I’m looking forward to answering the questions.”
Hitchcock wants to remain coaching.
“Right now I feel like I would coach forever but I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep,” Hitchcock said. “Whatever happens, all I know is I want to coach. There were times in November and December where I thought, ‘This is a struggle.’ That ended in January. It’s been off and running since. We had some trouble getting players to buy in and you start wondering if we could do it the way we did before. But when you see what this team can do, it’s invigorating.”
