Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: On the Canadiens …
- Tomas Plekanec’s agent, Rich Curran, said on Monday that he’s spoken with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, but mostly on other matters. Plekanec’s name was briefly brought up, and it was agreed that they would talk about him soon. Curran said there is no timetable. The 33-year old Plekanec will be a UFA at seasons end and is making $5 million this year. LeBrun thinks that if he re-signs, it would be for two or three years.
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: On the Hurricanes ….
- Things between the Hurricanes and Eric Staal remain status quo. The sides will circle back to each other in a month or two, giving each side some time to see where the team is headed.
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: On the Sabres …
- GM Tim Murray is okay with their goaltending situation for the time being.
“To me, trading for a goalie and not using who we have here first would be crazy,” said Murray.
“Now, Lieuwen is coming off a concussion, he’s healthy now and Ullmark had hip surgery, but he’s healthy now. There are some questions, no doubt about it, but we should answer those questions before we go outside the organization.”
The Flames and Avalanche are looking to move a goalie. The Oilers want to trade Ben Scrivens, but there is no interest from the Sabres.
If the Sabres are wanting to make a trade, it would ideally be for a top-four defenseman.
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: On the Lightning …
- Talks are believed to have started between Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and coach Jon Cooper. Neither side would comment.
Michael Traikos in the Ottawa Sun: Coaches on the hot seat …
- Coaches on the early season hot seat could include Claude Julien (BOS), Todd Richards (CBJ), Mike Johnston (PIT), Darryl Sutter (LA), Bruce Boudreau (ANA) and Lindy Ruff (DAL).
Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald: On the Flames …
- The Flames drafted Johnny Gaudreau 104th overall in the 2011 draft. While at Boston College, he turned heads quickly. When the Flames were talking trades with the teams, every time …
“His name was in the deal,” Conroy said. “It was always brought up — his name, his name. We’d say, ‘No. We’re starting fresh. This guy, we think, is going to be part of the team. We think he’s going to be a good player.’ We didn’t know … but when you have numerous teams calling to see what you’re going to do with him? You’re not getting rid of him.”
At the 2014 trade deadline, teams were calling again.
“Johnny was getting attention,” said Conroy. “Everyone’s thinking the same thing — ‘OK, now it’s his third year (at BC) and he’s probably going to (turn pro).’ So now he became more of the focus. We had conversations. Burkie said, ‘We’ve had some pretty good offers. What do you think?’ We’d worked with Johnny for a couple years and we wanted to keep him.
“He goes, ‘OK, no problem. I haven’t seen him play as much as everybody else … but let’s see what we have. Let’s get him signed.’”