Tom Gulitti of The Record: The Devils and 2015 first round pick Pavel Zacha are getting close to an entry-level contract, and it could be done by the end of their development camp this week. If they agree to a deal, and if he’s to play with Devils this year, they will owe his Czech Republic team a $100,000 transfer fee. One source said that Zacha is under contract with Liberec of the Czech Extraliga for 2015-16 and was loaned to Sarnia last year. Zacha agent Patrik Stefan said that “there is no contract” with Liberec. Devils GM Ray Shero said he has no idea if Zacha is under contract with Liberec, and Zacha said he was unsure of his contract status. Zacha had a different agent when he signed with Liberec, and Stefan told him not to worry about it.
“I don’t think it matters,” Shero said. “There’s nothing that’s going to stop us from signing Zacha. All I’ll say is we’re continuing to try to work on something with Pavel Zacha. If and when there is a deal that makes sense for both parties, we’ll sign it. Our goal is to sign him, it always has been and it doesn’t matter because it’s all part of he bigger picture in terms of what’s best for Pavel and the hockey team. It’s the same thing about whether he’s going to play on our team or not (in 2015-16). That’s all.
“There’s a number of players that have signed this year so far. There’s some players that haven’t. The dialogue is ongoing and we’ll get there at some point. I talked to Pavel briefly today about it and I said, ‘We’re working on it’ and he had a big smile so we’ll see where that takes us. But, it’s not something that’s going to be rushed. It’s one of those things that we’re doing the right thing that makes sense for both.”
Adam Vingan of the Tennessean: The Predators and Craig Smith are scheduled to have their arbitration hearing on Monday.
“It’s just a process,” Predators general manager David Poile said last week. “It’s probably actually good it’s been done because we know they’re going to be signed. It’s just how much, and it gives both sides a chance to prepare as best possible for an arbitration or maybe for a settlement.”
Smith’s agent wouldn’t comment on the situation. The Predators have said in the past that they’d like to sign him to a long-term deal.
Igor Eronko: Ilya Bryzgalov will decide in the next two months if he’ll retire or not.