- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: Steven Stamkos said that “nothing has changed” with regards to a contract extension with the Lightning. A deal is not close and he wants to stay in Tampa.
“I’m not really worried about anything to be honest,” Stamkos said in a phone interview from Toronto, where he’s participating in the NHL media tour. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in. It’s been a new experience. It’s not easy. But again, it really hasn’t effected me in any way.”
- CP in the Ottawa Sun: Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec said that his agent, Rick Curran, hasn’t had any contract talks with the Canadiens about a contract extension. The 32-year old will be a free agent at the end of this season.
“I’m not going to ask them if they want me,” Plekanec said jokingly. “If they want me, they would call, I guess.
“Should I call and ask, ‘Do you want me here?’ I have a phone number. I think it’s up to (general manager Marc Bergevin). If he wants me, I’m sure he’ll call the agent and start talking.”
Plekanec will make $5 million this season.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: The Avalanche are not commenting on the rumor that Curtis Glenncross could possibly be signing a PTO with them. The Avs have 12 forwards on one-way contracts, with Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Joey Hishon, Dennis Everberg, Borna Rendulic, Andrew Agozzino and Andreas Martinsen all on two-way deals. Chambers thinks that the Avs would like to bring Glencross in, but it may depend on how Rantanen looks in training camp. The Avs believe that Rantanen is close to being a legit NHL scoring winger.
- Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid Atlantic: The Capitals top four blueliners will consist of John Carlson, Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner. Their third pairing could have Dmitry Orlov with Nate Schmidt, with Taylor Chorney as their seventh defenseman. Gormley wonders if they would want to bring in a veteran for their bottom three if they could bring them in at a discounted price? Current options could include Cody Franson, Andrej Meszaros, Anton Volchenkov, Marek Zidlicky and Tim Gleason.