- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Recently signed Matt O’Connor is expected to be the Senators starter in Binghamton next season. Pending UFA Andrew Hammond has had talks with the Senators. GM Bryan Murray basically said at his end of season press conference that if they can re-sign Hammond, they would likely trade one of Craig Anderson or Robin Lehner.Talks with Hammond have been on hold as assistant GM Pierre Dorion is at the World Championships until next week.Lehner should draw interest as he’s still young and has upside potential. The Oilers and Sabres could be interested. The Senators are going to want a good asset for Lehner.
- Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: Mike Babcock will meet with as many as six teams, possibly more. He won’t be coaching in Detroit next year. He’s unlikely to be in Toronto. Destinations could be Philadelphia, Edmonton, Buffalo, San Jose, St. Louis or Anaheim.One league executive said that Dion Phanuef wants out “of that nut house in Toronto.”
Before the Coyotes dropped to the third slot in the draft, they told one of Dylan Strome’s agents that they wouldn’t pass on him if they had the third overall pick. Odds are now that they select Noah Hanifin. The Leafs may be leaning to Mitch Marner over Strome.
- Tom Gulitti of The Record: Devils co-owner Josh Harris on their timetable to fire a new coach.
“In terms of the coach, it’s something that Lou and Ray are focused on and we’re focused on, but you really want to get the right coach and not the quickest person available. But, it’s clearly a high priority right now. So, really, it’s about getting the right coach. We’ve got our existing people and we have outside people and we’re going to go through a process that allows the organization to get the right coach.”