Scouting the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning …
Jimmy Murphy: There were 13 scouts listed to attend last night’s Bruins and Lightning game. St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong was on the list to attend.
On the Los Angeles Kings …
John Hoven: (asked about the Kings and Sabres Evander Kane) Have said for a while that don’t see Evander Kane being in an LA Kings uniform. Now it’s possible that the Kings position regarding Kane has changed with the new GM.
On the New York Islanders …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Bob McKenzie was on TSN 690 radio and was asked again about the Islanders and pending UFA John Tavares. Things are going well for the Islanders and trending in the right direction with the roster additions of Matthew Barzal and Jordan Eberle. The arena is obviously still there and are awaiting a final decision on Belmont Park.
“But as I’ve said before, if you talk to a player on the New York Islanders, they don’t seem at all worried at the prospect of John Tavares leaving. Now whether that’s blind faith or whether they get a vibe that we don’t get…
“But I think for now, even though he hasn’t signed an extension, I kind of operate on the assumption this still could get done, and John Tavares just wants more information like the arena situation and a longer sample size than 20-odd games to make sure that the team is trending in the right direction.”
McKenzie adds that he doesn’t think it’s a hard contract to get done – eight years at between $10 and $12 million. Tavares just needs to be comfortable with signing there long-term.
Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 590 on Tuesday night. John Shannon mentioned that it would take at least $10 million a year of Tavares.
“Whatever he wants,” predicted Friedman. “At least 10. But I don’t think they’ve even talked money. I think the Islanders look at this like, ‘Let’s get our other questions solved, including the arena, and then we’re going to figure this out.’
