Free agency opens in less than 72 hours.
So, general managers: It’s high time you pop the cork on your Romanee-Conti Grand Cru for Steven Stamkos, book a reservation for Andrew Ladd at the Blue Water Cafe, and FedEx a dozen long-stemmed roses to Milan Lucic.
Swipe right now, gentlemen. Courting period is almost over.
Oilers wooing Lucic, Demers Tuesday
Unrestricted free agents Milan Lucic and Jason Demers are both in Edmonton today to meet with the Oilers brass, first reported by ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.
And now there is video proof:
Lucic, a Vancouver native, is in high demand in Western Canada. The Canucks, Oilers and Flames all want to get more truculent this off-season in order to crack the playoffs in a rather bruising Pacific Division. Each of the California teams will hurt you.
The big winger didn’t walk away from the Kings because he thought L.A. couldn’t contend. He walked away to get paid top dollar, and demand is high.
Like Alex Gologoski before him, Dallas’s Demers has also begun negotiating with other teams, and Edmonton, of course, needs to stabilize its blueline.
Stamkos keeping us in suspense
Unlike Lucic, hard information on the Stamkos meetings has been kept under lock and key. Thankfully, reporters have thrown out plenty of food for thought as we await the player’s verdict.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston makes a nice case for the NHL’s first sign-and-trade.
And Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times goes deep into the tax implications of a new Stamkos contract, city by city:
The question no one can answer with certainty, though: Where does Steven want to play?
This might not be simply be a matter of math.
One more year for Cullen
Thirty-nine-year-old Stanley Cup champion Matt Cullen — a steal at $800,000 last season — will play another year, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The guy was fantastic for the Penguins down the stretch and surely is due a raise.
Shattenkirk expecting a trade
St. Louis Blues defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk, 27, is expecting to get traded. It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in hockey at this point.
The player’s agent, Jordan Neumann of Edge Sports Management, spoke with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his client’s future, saying a trade is inevitable at this point.
“Doug [Armstrong, Blues GM] inferred that Kevin probably wouldn’t be re-signing there beyond next season, and therefore he thought it was in both our best interests and the Blues’ best interests that he pursue a trade,” Neumann said Monday.
“I would say that neither Kevin nor I was surprised. I think we all kind of saw it coming. We really respected the fact that Doug reached out and talked to us about it, and that we had some fair warning, and that he allowed us to have at least a little bit of input as the process sort of took off heading into draft weekend. Kevin loves it in St. Louis, he’s really enjoyed his time, his career has really taken off there. But at the same time, he’s a very smart young man and we completely understand the business. It would be naive to say we didn’t expect it to be coming.”
Panthers considered Bernier for backup position?
The Florida Panthers hired a new goaltending coach Tuesday, Leo Luongo, better known as “Uncle Leo” to Roberto’s kids.
The younger Luongo will get his hands on a new backup with Reto Berra coming in and Al Montoya heading out for free agency.
LeBrun reported that the Cats kicked tires on Toronto Maple Leafs backup Jonathan Bernier.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t surprised on the trade to get another goalie,” Bernier said of the Frederik Andersen deal. “I was expecting it obviously with the season I had last year. I’m sure I put some doubts in a lot of people’s minds. That’s the business, right? You got to win and you got to prove that you’re consistent and you’re a good goalie to stay in this league. So I wasn’t surprised. Maybe a little surprised on the long-term contract [Andersen signed a five-year deal], but that’s the way it works.”
Datsyuk gets his millions
If you thought $5.5 million in salary (his scheduled NHL rate for 2016-17) was a lot for an aging Pavel Datsyuk, well, the Russian star has reportedly agreed to a two-year pact worth a hefty $7.6 million with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.
Montreal open to welcoming back Weise
The Montreal Canadiens have touched base with the agent for UFA winger Dale Weise, whom they dealt away to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, ESPN reports.
The depth forward scored one goal for Chicago in four playoff games. The 27-year-old’s last contract carried a cap hit of $1.025 million.
Canadiens interested in Perron
According to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, the Canadiens are interested in David Perron, and the feeling is mutual. The 28-year-old UFA winger, who hails from Sherbrooke, Que., scored eight goals and added 12 assists in 28 games with the Ducks this season. He was acquired by Anaheim in the January trade that sent Carl Hagelin to the Penguins.
And some bonus tidbits…