On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
TSN Insider Trading: Steven Stamkos will be out four to six months.
Pierre LeBrun: If Stamkos doesn’t come back until the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning could put him on the LTIR, giving them about $8 million in salary cap space. It could make them a wildcard heading into the trade deadline. They’ve been looking for a right handed top-four defenseman for well over a year. They are not in a rush to make a move.
On the Montreal Canadiens …
Chris Nichols of Fan Rag Sports: Darren Dreger was on TSN 690 talking about Montreal Canadiens center Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk will be a RFA after the season. A La Presse article listed some comparables for Galchenyuk – Aleksander Barkov (six years, $5.9 million cap hit), Johnny Gaudreau (six years, $6.75 million cap hit), Sean Monahan (seven years, $6.375 million cap hit) and Mark Scheifele (eight years, $6.125 million cap hit).
“I guess what Marc Bergevin needs to figure out is what is Alex Galchenyuk. You know he’s a versatile player who can play center. He can play the wing. But is he a 20-goal scorer or is he a 30, 30-plus goal scorer. That’s what the agent for Galchenyuk will be pushing toward, is that based on his relatively decent start to the start of this year, his numbers are trending upward. So he’s probably going to be a 30-goal scorer and a 70-plus point guy, and you have to pay for those players.”
Dreger was asked if a six-year deal with a cap hit of $6.5 million would be in the ballpark for Galchenyuk.
“I would say it’s ballpark and I would it’s realistic, but we need to see where he’s at at the end of the year,” said Dreger. “And if he’s had the type of year that we think he’s trending towards, then I’m comfortable with it as well.
“If he staggers at any point this season, if there’s a longer stretch of inconsistency, whatever – anything outside of health, which he can’t control – then I think that number is a bit high.”
