- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: There doesn’t appear to much progress in the contract talks between the Blue Jackets and restricted free agent winger Matt Calvert. Calvert does have arbitration rights, but both sides may be hoping to avoid that.The Blue Jackets will be active in the next couple weeks, but they don’t feel they need to make massive changes.
GM Jarmo Kekalainen would like to improve his blueline, and has forwards, prospects and picks to make a deal with. Sense that they could look to make a significant upgrade at the top of their defense.
They would be fine with re-signing backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, but if they could improve, they might look at it.
Mike Reilly has apparently narrowed his list down to the Blackhawks, Kings and Wild. Some think the Blackhawks has been his preferred destination all along.
The Blue Jackets will take the best player available and Kekalainen is insisting that they are not dead-set on using their first round pick on a defenseman.
“It could work out that way,” Kekalainen said. “But the player we pick will be the best player on our board. All things equal, maybe you take the defenseman. But we do all this work on all these guys, and the list has to mean something. We’re not going off it that early based on a players position. By the time the player surfaces at the NHL, your entire situation could look different.”
- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Tim Murray’s top priority is to find a goalie as Chad Johnson is the only NHL goalie they have under contract.
“The basic plan is we have to get a goalie, that’s for sure,” Murray said at the team’s annual pre-draft news conference in First Niagara Center. “It’s a moving plan. The plan always moves. We would love to trade for a ‘youngish’ goalie. If that doesn’t work, we would trade for a real good short-term goalie who is older. If we could sign the best or second-best free agent goalie, we would be happy with that too. We’re working it every day.”
Options could be Cam Talbot or Martin Jones, though the Kings are saying they will re-sign Jones. Robin Lehner and Craig Anderson could be options.
Top free agent goalies include Antti Niemi, Karri Ramo and former Sabre Michal Neuvirth.
Murray will talk to other teams at next week’s GM meetings in Vegas.
“There’s potential,” he said. “There’s a lot of teams jammed up based on the cap not going to $74 million or where they projected it to go. There’s going to be a lot of talk. Will be there be action? I don’t know about that.”
The Sabres are still deciding on whether to buy out Cody Hodgson or not.
They want to sign RFA Mikhail Grigorenko to a two-way deal, but Girgorenko’s camp wants a one-way deal. The KHL is a possibility.
“Their expectations of a contract are a little different than ours,” Murray said. “They feel he’s NHL ready. We feel he needs time in the minors, whether it’s 10 games, half a year. That depends on what kind of summer he has.”
“I don’t know why they’d be afraid of a two-way contract. I’m baffled actually,” Murray said. “If we think he needs more time and we have to put him on waivers but he is what he thinks he is, he’s in the NHL in my opinion. He’s just not in Buffalo.”
