On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: After the Lightning re-signed defenseman Nikita Nesterov to a one-year, $725,000 deal, leaving the Lightning with between $5 and $5.5 million in salary cap space.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for RFA Nikita Kucherov, who could get $6 million plus on a new deal.
The Lightning will get a bit of flexibility when they are able to put Ryan Callahan on the LTIR at the start of the season. He’s expected to be out until mid-November.
The Lightning will also have to think about potential bonuses that Jonathan Drouin and Andrei Vasilevskiy could earn this season that could carry over until next year.
GM Steve Yzerman said on the weekend that he is “very hopeful” that he’s able to Kucherov signed and will “push harder” now that his World Cup of Hockey is over. They have been talking, but nothing appears imminent.
On Shane Doan and the Arizona Coyotes …
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: The soon to be 40-year old Shane Doan knows this could be his last season in the NHL. Doan doesn’t want to overstay his welcome. He said he had a hard time getting a one-year deal from the Coyotes this past offseason.
“That’s what I am most afraid of,” he said Friday after the first day of training camp. “I don’t want them ever to be like: ‘We have to be polite to him so we have to keep him around.’
“Every athlete says ‘I’ll know when I’m done,’ but I don’t think you ever do. I think you’re one of the last ones to figure it out. Hopefully, I have enough people around me that are friends and are honest with me that I won’t be offended by them being rude and saying ‘hey, it’s time for you to move on.’”
