- Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Canucks GM Jim Benning has wondered where all the Chris Higgins trade talk started.
“Chris Higgins is an important player on our team,” Linden said in a statement Monday. “We have not talked to any clubs about trading him. We value Chris both for his on-ice abilities and his leadership in the locker-room.”
The 32-year old Higgins has two years left at a $2.5 million cap hit. Higgins has been traded twice before and realizes it could happen again at some point.
“You try to take it all in stride. It’s been a crazy year and a tough year away from the rink,” Higgins said after his fiancée, Chantal, delivered the couple’s first child, a seven-pound, four-ounce baby girl named Bowen on April 10. “Finally, everything is starting to settle. I’ve felt more like myself the last couple of weeks.”
- Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly: Michael Del Zotto’s arbitration hearing is set for July 21st. The Flyers qualified him at $1.3 million. Del Zotto has been looking for at least a three-year contract at over $3 million per season. GM Ron Hextall said last week that talks about a new deal are “amicable.”
- Aaron Portzline: (answering question) Alex Wennberg is basically untouchable for this Blue Jackets management group.
- George Malik of Kukla’s Korner: Rough translation from Red Wings Tomas Jurco to Sport.sk. It’s sounding like he’ll sign a one-year, or a short-term deal soon.
What’s your latest situation with Detroit?
“We’re negotiating a new contract. It should be concluded in the upcoming days. I think in a week we will already have done the deal, so we’ll see.”
Do you know what you can expect from the Red Wings’ leadership?
“I’ve received a qualifying offer. From my perspective, it’s difficult to negotiate because I don’t have the option of going to arbitration as I’m not 27. So I have to agree with the conditions offered to me. So I didn’t accept the qualifying offer and we’re negotiating better conditions. We’ll see how it goes.”
A second possibility is that you have the right to negotiate with other teams.
“That’s true, but in the case of agreements with rival teams my present team can match the offer. It’s a matter of my agent to represent me and gauge interest.”
Do your representatives network with other teams, or are they negotiating only with Detroit?
“Detroit doesn’t have to be the #1 priority. It depends where I’d play and have the best conditions. But I think I will stay with Detroit for the upcoming season.”