- TSN Insider Trading: LeBrun: Eric Staal and the Hurricanes will meet to talk about his future. Staal will be a pending UFA after next season.They will either look to sign him to a cheaper contract extension or put him on the trade block. He does have a no-trade clause.
LeBrun: The Penguins could be interested in RFA Brandon Saad and could look to sign him to an offer sheet. Don’t think that Saad is going anywhere, despite the Blackhawks cap issues. The Penguins are looking for a top six winger and could make Brandon Sutter available.
McKenzie: Contract talks between the Wild and Devan Dubnyk could get difficult. The Wild may not be able to buyout Niklas Backstrom due to his elbow issue. The Sharks could be interested in Dubnyk if he hits the open market.
- Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington: The Capitals are looking for a top-line right winger, and one winger that could be available is Maple Leafs Phil Kessel. He has seven years at $8 million per season though. Unless a team can dump a lot of salary, the number of teams interested may be small. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Leafs are looking for draft picks and prospects.Capitals GM Brian MacLellan has already noted that this year’s right wing free agent crop is thin: Marty St. Louis, Justin Williams, Michael Frolik, Antoine Vermette and Michael Ryder.Next year’s right wing free agent crop could be made available this offseason. The list could include: Shane Doan ($5.3 million) Radim Vrbata ($5 million), Loui Eriksson ($4.25 million), Jakub Voracek ($4.25 million) and Kyle Okposo ($2.8 million).Blackhawks Patrick Sharp (two-years left at a $5.9 million cap hit) could be made available again. The Capitals had interest in Sharp at the deadline.
If the Capitals don’t like their free agent and trade options, Andre Barakovsky or Tom Wilson could start the year on the top line.
- Tom Dougherty and Tim Riday of CSN Philly: Looking at the Flyers and if they would be interested in pending UFA Drew Stafford. The Flyers need wingers, but Stafford might cost too much as the Flyers don’t have a lot of cap space. Dougherty could see the Flyers being interested, but not being able to afford him. Riday thinks the Flyers should be cautious with regards to Stafford as there are many flaws in his game for the money he makes.