On Chicago Blackhawks …
Scott Powers of The Athletic: The Blackhawks season last year didn’t go as planned and they weren’t really able to take advantage of Marian Hossa‘s LTIR, and it didn’t save them from bonus overages either.
When asked if they are considering the offseason LTIR for Hossa, GM Stan Bowman rejected the idea.
“We’ve talked about that at length before, Scott,” Bowman said. “It’s really not a great option to do the offseason LTIR. It presents you with a number of challenges when you start the season in terms of having any ability to make moves throughout the year. So it’s not a really a realistic way to approach the season.”
It was thought that the Blackhawks would trade Hossa’s contract before the start of free agency to make things a little easier for them, and in some cases a necessity.
“If they had wanted to sign James Neal, David Perron, Paul Stastny, Rick Nash, then for sure they should have traded Hossa’s contract,” a league source said.
The Blackhawks will need to attach a sweetener to get a team to take on the cap hit. Teams like the Coyotes and Hurricanes that don’t necessarily need the cap anymore, so a top asset will need to be included.
On the Washington Capitals …
Tarik El-Bashir of NHL Sports Washington: The Capitals top priority is now to get Tom Wilson signed to a long-term extension.
“It’s a big priority,” MacLellan said. “Tom’s a big part of our team, a big part of what we got going and our playoff success. So, he’s No. 1 right now.”
Wilson is arbitration eligible with the deadline to file being tomorrow at 5:00 pm.
Wilson finished up a two-year, $4 million deal and they are hoping to do a long-term deal.
“There’s a trade-off,” MacLellen said, asked if the team prefers a longer extension or a bridge. “I would like long-term, but we’ll see what his representatives want to do. I’d prefer to keep him around for as long as we can.”
