Preliminary talks for Faulk and Hurricanes
David Pagnotta: The Carolina Hurricanes have held preliminary talks with Justin Faulk‘s camp about an extension. It’s not a concern or rush for either side.
Jets looking for left-handed depth
Ken Wiebe: Believe that the Winnipeg Jets may have some interest in left-handed defenseman Anthony Bitetto. They have been looking for some depth on the left side.
Bruins out of the free agent market for now
Joe Haggerty: Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney on free agency: “I think we’re done for now. You never say never, but that might be it for us for a while”
Gusev and Golden Knights are not close on a deal … A variety of trade options may be explored
Jesse Granger of The Athletic: Forward Nikita Gusev might be the next Vegas Golden Knights player that is moved out.
A source saying the Golden Knights and Gusev are $2 million per year apart on a two-year deal.
“We think (Gusev) is a really good player,” Golden Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee said Monday. “We’d like to work something out here, but if that doesn’t work out we’ll look at options.”
The Golden Knights don’t have a lot of salary cap space – around $3 million – with RFAs Jimmy Schuldt and Malcolm Subban and UFA Deryk Engelland left to sign.
“There’s definitely an interest in him,” McPhee said. “We’ve had people call us on him. We’ll see what develops. I can’t tell you what will happen, but we’ll work on it. He’s been very, very good on the international stage. He wants to play in the NHL. He worked very hard to get over here, and we’re going to accommodate him one way or another, either here or with another club.”
Gusev could be a Plan B option for teams that lost out on Artemi Panarin.
Trade options to help fit in a Gusev deal could be Ryan Reaves ($2.775), Nick Holden ($2.2 million) and Cody Eakin ($3.85 million).
Cody Glass could be ready for third-line duty which could make Eakin expendable.