- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman has a lot of work to do this offseason, but already has a plan in place.
“We’ll enjoy this for a bit first. I’ve been thinking about this stuff for a long time, it’s not like it’s going to surprise me,” the Hawks general manager said Monday night amidst a full celebration on the United Center ice. “We’ll make it work. We’ve got a plan in place.”
Patrick Sharp wonders who will return and who might not – which include himself.
“Yeah it is , you never know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen, either,” he said. “Just going to enjoy this for a few days and we’ll go from there.”
- Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune: RFA Brandon Saad doesn’t have a lot of options. A team could offer sheet him, but GM Bowman has repeatedly said that there is no way that the Blackhawks would let Saad go elsewhere. Saad has said he wants to stay.
- Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1040 on Ryan O’Reilly.
“I think the Avs are starting to take some talk on him, but again, I think it’s more to gauge the marketplace than a firm commitment that they’re absolutely trading him. I think it’s more likely O’Reilly will be traded at some point here than – yeah, more likely than not likely he’ll be traded. But at the same time, it will depend on what the deal is and the financial negotiations that go on with any contract.
“So like I said – if I were a betting man, I’d say Ryan O’Reilly is more likely to be traded, but it’s not a 100 percent slam dunk that it will happen before the draft or at all.
“So we’ll see where it goes from here.”
- Elliotte Friedman: Hearing that Todd Nelson will be new head coach of the Red Wings AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.
- Inside Pittsburgh Sports: The Penguins have offered Mike Sullivan the head coaching position for their AHL affiliate in Wilkes Barre.