Pavel Datsyuk likely to stay in Russia
Bob McKenzie of TSN.ca: Pavel Datsyuk reiterated his declaration that the SKA portion of his career was done. This led to some speculation that the Detroit Red Wings may be the next stop. However, Daniel Milstein, his agent, and Datsyuk were getting together while he was in Michigan. The destination appears to still be in Mother Russia.
Avtomobilist Yakaterinburg looks like the next place Datsyuk will lace up his skates for. It makes sense given that is where he grew up. There lies a slight chance Datsyuk might change his mind. Alas, that may be wishful thinking for the Detroit faithful.
Winnipeg Jets cloudy future may get worse
Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press: A major cap crunch hits Winnipeg hard and at least one quality player will have to say goodbye. Could more be on the horizon?
Kevin Cheveldayoff faces the decision of how to best sustain his team’s success. It is a difficult process, to say the least. What Cheveldayoff interprets as the problems of this team will determine who stays and who goes.
By no means will this be simple. There are two windows for the general manager to act — one is around the draft and the other is around the free agency period (July 1).
Unfortunately, the stakes are high for Winnipeg but they cannot panic at the same time. The likely window to act is for the next five seasons (2023-24) which means extending Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine while possible.
Jacob Trouba may be trade bait or held on to for one more year. One way or the other, his days appear numbered in Winnipeg.
After that, Paul Maurice must find out what went wrong this last third of the season. If he does not, Kevin Cheveldayoff has even bigger problems to sort out.
Ottawa Senators fine according to Gary Bettman
Bruce Garrioch: The commissioner insists that Eugene Melnyk’s finances are fine and that the Ottawa Senators have no intention to move. They are still looking for a new arena and a president of hockey operations.
A snippet on Andrei Markov
Andrew Zadarnowski: Markov’s agent opines that the defenseman wants to play at least one more season. Furthermore, he is open to playing in the NHL. Will, there be offers or does he stay in the KHL? Stay tuned.
