- Rich Chere of NJ.com: Devils GM Ray Shero thinks that he’ll be able to sign Adam Larsson to a long-term contract before the July 29th salary arbitration date.
“We have the date for arbitration, so I’ll talk to (agent) J.P. Barrie again at some point this week and compare notes and see if something might be done on a longer term deal if possible,” Shero said. “Something that makes sense for both.
“If not, at least you have a date, so there is going to be a contract either way whether it’s the arbitration or negotiating. We have a little bit of time here and Lou (Lamoriello) always says if you have time you use it. I think both sides are doing that and trying to do what makes sense for both the player and the team. We’ll get back at it again this week.”
The sides have been working on a deal, and Shero is confident it will get done.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve worked at it. It’s not like we’re just starting,” Shero noted. “We have had plenty of discussions. I’ve done a number of deals with J.P. Barrie in the past, so it’s not like we’re trying to get to know each other. He was tie up in L.A. last week and we had our camp going on.”
Shero isn’t sure if unsigned goaltender Anthony Brodeur will get a training camp invite.
“Don’t know yet. We’ll have discussions with him,” Shero said.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings will look at moving a defenseman as the summer moves on. If they don’t move one, they’ll head into the season with a well stocked defensive group.
- Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal: Aaron Portzline noted the Blue Jackets could use a defenseman, but don’t have a lot of cap space. The Oilers could also use a defenseman, but their issue is roster space and not money. The Oilers didn’t buyout defenseman and now have seven NHL defenseman under contract.Willis proposed the Oilers retaining 50 percent of Justin Schultz’s salary and trading him to the Blue Jackets for draft picks/prospects. The Oilers could then look to sign free agent defenseman, someone like Cody Franson. Schultz may have more offensive upside, but Franson is bigger and has a better defensive game.
