On Trevor Daley …
William DePaoli: As of late afternoon yesterday there were 10 teams that were interested in Penguins pending free agent defenseman Trevor Daley. He will cut the list down in the next 48 hours. He is expected to get offers of three or four year range.
Ansar Khan: The Red Wings are hoping to sign a defenseman or two when free agency opens on Saturday. Among the names the Red Wings could be interested include Dan Girardi, Trevor Daley, Brian Campbell and Ron Hainsey.
Steve Conroy: The Bruins are about one of eight teams that have spoken with pending free agent defenseman Trevor Daley.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Penguins and free agent defenseman Justin Schultz have started long-term contract extension talks.
“It’s early,” Arnott told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But we’ve had some good, positive discussions.”
The Penguins and Schult’z reps met during the draft and contract talks are expected to continue later this week. The filing for player-elected salary arbitration has a deadline of July 5th at 5:00 pm, so they are hoping to have something done by then.
“There’s no hidden fact he’d like to be in Pittsburgh,” Arnott said. “He’s a restricted free agent, so it’s not like he has a choice. Come July 1, all unsigned players are free to listen to other teams, too.”
Schultz received a $1.14 million qualifying offer but he won’t be signing it which is not going to be an issue.
“We will not be signing the qualifying offer,” Arnott said. “You saw what he did this year. The practical answer is it’s a non-issue.”
Schultz took a big discount last year to prove his worth and he showed them. Comparables could put him in the $4 to $5 million range. Going over $5 million a season may be really difficult for the Penguins.
