John Vogl of the Buffalo News: The Sabres are close to locking up Tyler Myers to a long-term deal, with the final hurdle being length of the deal. TSN is reporting a 6 year, $33 million deal.
“We had two sides that wanted to stay together,” Myers’ agent, J.P. Barry, said by phone. “Tyler wanted to remain a Sabre, and having this done at an early stage was something that he wanted. He’s happy that the club approached him about wanting to do this early.”
“We’re not far away at all,” Barry said. “We’ve been working for the better part of the last week here, and we’re definitely proceeding here every day. We’re working hard on trying to get something finalized.”
Mark Everson of the NY Post: Martin Brodeur will be a UFA at the end of the season, and though he hopes this isn’t his last season with the Devils, he may leave if the team is rebuilding. If there is a lockout, he may retire.
“I don’t want to put any barriers on my decision,” he said. “I would love to stay forever in New Jersey. That’s my goal.
“Then again, if they’re going a different route, and I feel I want to play, I can’t close these doors. I don’t want to go anywhere, that’s the bottom line.
“And I don’t know if I want to play . I’m not saying I’m going to play this out and go somewhere. That’s not my intention at all. It might come to that because of circumstances, but I don’t think it will happen.”
Matthew Sekeres of the Globe and Mail: Sekeres wonders if Kyle Turris’ wanting between $3 – $4 million from the Coyotes is “a trade request in disguise.” It appears that the 2 sides are still far apart and that it may not get done by the start of camp. The Coyotes have gone with defensive minded veterans in the last couple years, limiting playing time for younger players.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: Luke Schenn isn’t stressing over the fact that his contract hasn’t been finalized yet. Reports are saying that he could get a deal around $4 million per season, but that was before Zach Bogosian signed a 2 year deal averaging $2.5 million. Koshan thinks that Schenn’s deal may be closer to Bogosian’s number than the $4 million.
Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen: Senators owner Eugene Melnyk admits that he lost money last year but isn’t considering selling the team. The Fan 590 was saying that he lost $14 million and might be looking to sell. Melnyk has filed a grievance awhile ago with the NHL regarding a $4 million bonus paid to Dany Heatley on July 1st 2009 after Heatley nixed a trade to Edmonton.
“That’s going to continue on. It’s taking so long, it’s ridiculous,” Melnyk said. “The hearing . . . hopefully one day you get it and the guy doesn’t blow all his money, that he’s got money to pay back. So, I just want to make sure he has got the money around when he has got to pay us back.”
Toronto Sun: The former owner of the Quebec Nordiques, Marcel Aubut, thinks that the NHL will return to Quebec City in the next 2 years. The new arena won’t be finished until 2015, and they may have had a team sooner had the arena been finished already according to Aubut. If a team were to relocate in 2 years, it would have to play 2 years in the 61 year old Pepsi Colisee.
“If we had (built) earlier, we would have had a team today, not Winnipeg,” he said of the Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Manitoba in May.
“I know that (NHL commissioner Gary) Bettman would have chosen Quebec City way before Winnipeg. I remember when the Nordiques left, he said ‘we just lost a big asset, with the cultural aspect that Quebec represents.’ This was an American talking!”
Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News: UFA Sergei Samsonov has been skating with the Red Wings and would like a tryout, but the Wings may be comfortable with their depth at forward.
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Flyers have signed Blake Kessel to a 2 year entry-level deal and invited Adam Mair to camp.
