Bieksa still looking for the perfect fit
Dan Murphy: Unrestricted free agent defenseman Kevin Bieksa has had some offers this offseason, but he continues to look for the perfect fit. His family will remain in California regardless of where he ends up, and he obviously would like to remain close to them.
No interest in Ryan
Shawn Simpson: Have been told that there is zero interest from teams for Bobby Ryan – on his own or in an Erik Karlsson trade. He has four years left on his deal at $7.5 million. The Senators are able to retain up to 50 percent of this salary.
Pacioretty sets a trade template for two Senators
Shawn Simpson: The Montreal Canadiens return for Max Pacioretty (Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki, and a second-round pick) creates a good template if the Ottawa Senators look to trade Mark Stone and/or Matt Duchene this season. The return for Erik Karlsson would obviously have to be better.
Hurricanes and Aho set to resume contract extension talks again
Tom Gulitti of NHL.com: The Carolina Hurricanes and forward Sebastian Aho held some contract extension talks earlier this offseason, but they agreed to hold off until the start of training camp. The sides are expected to resume long-term talks soon.
“He’s in town now and we’ll pick up talks,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Friday. “We had some talks in the summertime, but just felt it wasn’t the right time. So now that he’s back, we’d like to put some time into , and I think they feel the same way. Hopefully we can come out of here with a resolution.”
Aho said that he hopes a deal can be reached before the start of the season, but he’s not going to put a deadline on it. The 21-year old is scheduled to a be an RFA after the season and isn’t sure if they are they would do an eight-year deal.
“It’s tough to say,” Aho said. “I’m sure they’re working on it and we’ll see what happens.”
