On the Vancouver Canucks …
Rick Dhaliwal: Unrestricted free agent Darren Archibald should sign a contract soon and the Canucks are still in the running. He was the MVP in Utica last season.
On the Washington Capitals …
JJ Regan: (with regards to Philipp Grubauer and if he’s a trade candidate) … Not in the short-term as there doesn’t appear to be much of trade market for goaltenders right now. If a goalie gets hurt early in the season, the Capitals could be the first team that receives a call.
On the New York Rangers …
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: With the addition of Kevin Shattenkirk, the Rangers have a crowded blue line, especially on the third-pairing/roster spot – Marc Staal, Nick Holden, Anthony DeAngelo, Alexei Bereglazov and Neal Pionk.
Defenseman Nick Holden has a year left on his deal with a $1.65 million cap hit and could be made available in the Rangers search for a top-six center.
Over the weekend GM Jeff Gorton mentioned that the Rangers could move J.T. Miller back to center.
The Rangers have about $8.4 million in salary cap space.
Mika Zibanejad filed for salary arbitration and could be looking for between $4.5 million and $5.5 million depending on the term of the deal.
They could still need to add a center and potentially a winger while Jesper Fast recovers from offseason hip surgery.
The Rangers could buyout Marc Staal in the next buyout window to create more cap space, but it would be a costly move.
On the St. Louis Blues …
Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The Anaheim Ducks signed Cam Fowler to an eight-year, $52 million extension this offseason. The Blues have restricted free agent Colton Parayko who will either be looking for a long-term deal or a short-term deal.
Fowler is 25 years old and has played seven years, Parayko is 24 years with only two years in the NHL.
Parayko’s camp could as for between $6 and $7 million a season on a long-term deal. They could go for a short-term deal through salary arbitration. Going a short-term deal and then a long-term deal could end up costing the Blues more.
