Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Blue Jackets will have to wait until teams strike out on Zach Parise. The Rangers weren’t thrilled with Parise saying he wasn’t interested in playing for them and annoyed with how the Nash thing is dragging out. They have talked to Anaheim about Bobby Ryan. Both the Maple Leafs and Panthers held talks with the Canucks at the draft, but both teams were unimpressed with the Canucks asking price. The Canucks want to make a hockey deal and not a salary dump, and won’t just give him away. The Red Wings, Kings, Penguins and Wild will all be after Zach Parise, but don’t count the Devils out.
“We’ll certainly do anything that can be done,” Devils GM Lou Lamoriello told ESPN.com Saturday. “It’s mutual on both sides. We have to find a way.”
Stars forward Steve Ott is getting plenty of interest. Ott may be what the Canadiens need. The Coyotes received an offer for for Keith Yandle that made them pause before rejecting it. Keep an eye on the Oilers regarding Justin Schultz. The Panthers met with Jason Garrison at the draft, but no deal. They could trade his rights in the next week. Ondrej Pavelec’s agent met with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff on Saturday. The Canucks and Cory Schneider are not close to a deal.
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Schenn-van Riemsdyk trade saved Flyers some money, but appears to shut the door on any Ryan Suter and Justin Schultz pursuit. The trade may have created a hole in their offense though. The Flyers may now have enough cap space to go after Zach Parise. The Penguins may also now have the cap room for Parise. P.A. Parenteau could be a fall back option. Bobby Ryan is also an option, but they don’t want to trade Sean Couturier, Matt Read or Brayden Schenn.
Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Armed with salary cap space, the Penguins plan to go after Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Sources said that Sidney Crosby could soon sign a 10-13 year deal worth between $9 to $10 million per season. Any deals made with Suter and Parise would be made with the keeping Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal and Kris Letang together. The Pens are aggressively shopping Paul Martin and his 3 years, $15 million contract. The Pens currently sit $15 million under the projected $70 million cap. The Penguins could offer a low pick to the Predators for Suter’s rights.
Kevin Schultz of the Islanders Point Blank: Reports from a Slovak website that recently acquired Lubomir Visnovsky may play in Slovakia or the KHL instead of with the NY Islanders. He has offers from both leagues. The Islanders sent a 2nd round pick in 2013 to the Ducks for him.
James Mirtle via twitter: Leafs GM Brian Burke said that James van Riemsdyk’s injury was part of the reason a deal wasn’t done during the season.
Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Ducks GM Bob Murray met with Justin Schultz’s agent at the draft. “I met quietly with their people [Thursday] night and it’s not going anywhere,” Murray said. “Justin’s made up his mind on what he’s doing.” “We’ve got one more attempt,” he said. “We’re going to try once more.”
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson said none of the offers that he’s received have come close.“I thought there might be (more interest at the draft),” Howson said. “But there wasn’t.” It’s likely that Nash will remain with Blue Jackets through the start of free agency. Howson has said that even if a deal isn’t done by mid-July, he won’t take a lesser deal to get it done. Howson is banking on free agency to drive up Nash’s value, with teams missing out on Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to come calling. But teams are also going in different directions. The Hurricanes dealt for Jordan Staal, and the Flyers traded a James van Riemsdyk, who would have been a central part of a deal. The Rangers, Senators and Sharks are still potential destinations.
Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch:
“We’ll just keep working,” general manager Scott Howson said. “I sensed through the middle of (last) week that there was not a big push from the teams I’ve been talking to. This was not a day when people felt a pressure point.”
Howson wants 3-5 pieces, top end prospects, NHL players and draft picks. Things got trickier when Bobby Ryan hit the trade market as he’s younger and cheaper.
Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times: Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is still available. The Senators and Oilers are said to be looking at him. GM Bowman did talk with the Panthers and Lightning GMs at the draft.
“The discussions I did have, everyone agreed that you don’t need to try to jam a trade in in the next half-hour before we get going. But we had some brief discussions with a few teams. We all agreed that it will probably pick up as the weeks go on. There will be movement with players around the league over the next two weeks.”
Aaron Portzline via twitter: The Ottawa Senators are not on Rick Nash’s approved trade list.
Aaron Porzline via twitter: The Blue Jackets were counting on James van Riemsdyk to be a big part of a Rick Nash deal with the Flyers.
Damian Cristodero via twitter: Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said that he wants to add defense through trade or free agency but isn’t opposed to fill holes from within.
Sarah McLellan via twitter: Coyotes assistant GM Brad Trleiving said yesterday that if Henrik Samuelsson wasn’t available for the Coyotes at #27, they would have trade the pick.
BD Gallof via twitter: Source said the Oilers offered Sam Gagner and Magnus Paajarvi for Keith Yandle during the draft.