- Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun: Some were thinking that the Jets would trade Dustin Byfuglien this offseason as he’ll become a UFA after this season. The Jets have 11 defenseman under contract who have NHL experience, nine are on one-way contracts. They are not as deep upfront, which is why some where thinking there would be a trade.Wyman thinks that since they have so many defenseman, they should consider moving Byfuglien up front. The Jets had a 16-9-7 record when he was at forward last year, 9-3-1 when he wasn’t in the lineup, and 18-14-5 when he was playing defense. The Jets could be better off without Byfuglien, especially if they get a good return. If they can’t/won’t move Byfuglien, they need to re-sign him or lose him for nothing to free agency.
- Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune Rewview: Phil Kessel will likely be starting off on a line with Sidney Crosby according to head coach Mike Johnston.
“You’d probably find (Kessel) starting on the right side with Sid to begin with,” Johnston said.
“Things do change in camp,” Johnston said. “We have eight exhibition games. So with the games, we want to try combinations together, but we also want to take a look at some different looks in practice.
“So don’t get enamored if some practices there are some different combinations. We need to take a look at it as we head in and approach the beginning of the season.”
Johnston said that it sounds like Pascal Dupuis has been skating well. Sergei Plotnikov will be a candidate for their top-six on the left side. If the Penguins start the year with a 23 man roster and don’t put Eric Fehr on the LTIR, they’ll have less than $500,000 in salary cap space. GM Jim Rutherford did say that a trade could give them more salary flexibility, but he doesn’t have anything imminent.
“You can’t even find a lot of (GMs) if you call them right now,” he said with a laugh. “It’s really when we get into camp, and teams see what they have. Probably into camp or a month or so into the season.”