What Vancouver Canucks may be eyeing ahead of free agency?
Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic: After the trades and NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks stand at making a bit of a splash. Acquiring Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson while parting with Loui Eriksson and several pieces (including the ninth pick) was bold.
Yet, they are not done. Jake Virtanen was put on unconditional waivers on Sunday. They are still gauging the Braden Holtby market as a few teams are in the mix for the goaltender. Vancouver is willing to even retain some salary to entice some teams.
Then, there is Nate Schmidt. The problem is the dominoes have not fallen in place yet. Schmidt is not quite in demand and until then, nothing is imminent.
Vancouver is also looking for a Zach Hyman type of player without the price tag. The problem there is those do not exist.
New York Islanders — Kyle Palmieri, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, etc?
Arthur Staple of The Athletic: New York needs a left-shot defenseman for their second pairing. However, can they find one? Ryan Suter may make his decision before free agency. New York does not look like a winner here. Alec Martinez leans toward returning to Vegas.
That’s another option gone. What about Mike Reilly? Reilly could stick around in Boston if the Bruins do not try to bring in Keith Yandle. So, stay tuned.
Alex Goligoski is a cheap option and Hampus Lindholm is the more high-profile option to keep an eye on.
Kyle Palmieri and Zach Parise are two targets of the New York Islanders. While nothing is too immediate, deals are possible with both forwards. Palmieri may not be that expensive either which could allow Lou Lamoriello to go shopping further.
Gabriel Landeskog is still out there but the word seems to edge towards Colorado a bit. Vladimir Tarasenko would be at less of a cap hit but Lamoriello would have to watch his dollars especially with what Casey Cizikas and Adam Pelech have initially asked for.
Numbers will inch down but that $23+ million in cap space will dwindle very quickly on Long Island.