On the Wild …
- Michael Russo of the Star Tribune: (mailbag) On if Jared Spurgeon could be traded before the deadline – Spurgeon will be a restricted free agent this offseason. If they are unable to re-sign hikm, it would be more of an offseason trade than at the trade deadline. Teams are usually looking for rentals at the deadline.
- On what might happen with goalie Darcy Kuemper – he’ll likely be traded at some point. It makes sense if a trade happens around the draft. They still need him to make some starts to show teams he could be a No. 1 goalie and raise his value.
- On if the Wild could buy out Jason Pominville if he can’t find his scoring touch – it would be expensive, but it may not be a shock.
- On if the Wild would be interested in Kyle Okposo if he becomes a free agent – would be hard for the Wild to fit in. They have to re-sign Jason Zucker, Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba.
- On if anyone would trade for Niklas Backstrom – he hasn’t played since last January, and wasn’t playing well when he was healthy. Would be hard to trade the 37 year old.
On the Predators and Kings …
- Craig Custance of ESPN: The Predators and Seth Jones’ camp had contract extension talks last week, and their talks will soon move past the preliminary stages. Jones role with the team could change over the course of his next contract, as he could move past Shea Weber as the teams franchise defenseman.Comparisons for Jones’ could be Dougie Hamilton (six years at $5.75 million per year) or on the lower end, Justin Faulk (six years at a $4.8 million cap hit). The sweet spot could be at $5 million per year on a six year deal.
“I feel we have a really good fit and I do feel it will work out at some point in time,” Poile said. “My goal is to keep everyone together.”
- The longer contract talks drag on between the Kings and Anze Kopitar, the more you have to wonder if Kopitar will get frustrated. He wanted to get a deal done by the start of the season.
“A superstar is telling you he wants to stay. Usually, that gets done by August 1,” said one source.
On the Lightning …
- Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune: The Lightning scratched defenseman Matt Carle last night. It has been reported that they are actively trying to trade him. He has two years left after this season and carries a $5.5 million salary cap hit. He has a modified no-trade clause.
- The Lightning have about $1.2 million cap space this season, but could be looking to create future room to re-sign Steven Stamkos.