On the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks and Tomas Fleischmann …
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Anaheim Ducks would like to get Hampus Lindholm at under the $5.4 million that Rasmus Ristolainen got from the Buffalo Sabres. At the start of last week it appeared they were $700,000 apart on a deal – with the Ducks at $5.1 million and Lindholm at $5.8 million. Friedman thinks that gap has closed a bit. The cost of buying two years of unrestricted free agency as opposed to one year for Ristolainen may be the sticking point. The Ducks have suggested a five-year deal, but Lindholm’s camp wasn’t interested.
Johnny Gaudreau was getting some pressure from teammates before he was signed, and rumor is that Lindholm could be getting similar messages from teammates.
The Ducks are a budget team and are right against the cap. Some league executives think the Ducks might have to make two trades and not just one. One executive said that GM Bob Murray doesn’t really want to move Cam Fowler for draft picks and prospects as that doesn’t improve the team now.
There was a rumor that the Dallas Stars were interested in LA Kings forward Dustin Brown. It was shot down.
There are rumors that the Kings have contacted the Winnipeg Jets about Ondrej Pavelec, but there were some strong denials on that as well.
Friedman thinks there was at least one team was considering taking both Pavelec and Jacob Trouba before the 2016 draft, but at the time the Jets weren’t interested.
The St. Louis Blues will be looking to add some veteran experience at some point.
The Chicago Blackhawks will look to trade for a forward. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is available, but the Blackhawks might have to sweeten the pot.
Tomas Fleischmann was suppose to be at Minnesota Wild’s training camp on a PTO, but failed his physical. The Wild were concerned about his blood clot history – he’s been cleared many times. He’s still looking for another opportunity.
