John Buccigross via twitter: Buccigross was told that the Sabres 4 year, $30 offer to Shane Doan is legit. The Coyotes are only looking to go 2 years for now. Mike Harrington via twitter: Harrington notes again that the Sabres may not be that attractive to Doan if he hasn’t signed the big 4 year offer already.
Kevin Durz of CSN Bay Area: Jeff Skinner’s 6 year contract with an annual cap hit of $5.725 million will be of interest for Sharks forward Logan Couture, who is entering the first year of a 2 year deal that paid him $5.75 over 2 years. Skinner beat out Couture for the Rookie of the Year in 2010-11.
Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly: Not everyone likes Scott Hartnell’s 6 year, $28.5 million extension, mainly the agents who feel he sold himself short,
“Everyone is asking what the [bleep] he just did,” said one agent.
Hartnell has a limited no-movement clause. He may have been able to $5.5 million plus if hit the open market next summer, though he may not have gotten the 6 years.
Stephen Whyno via twitter: Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth tells iSport.cz that Braden Holtby is his “weakest competition yet.”
Brian Stubits of CBS Sports: (Russian Machine Never Breaks translation) Neuvirth did clarify a little better,
He sure is a great goalie. But I can’t compare him to Voky or Varlamov, that’s what I meant. In comparison to those two, he played nothing in the NHL and that’s why I take him as the weakest of them three. I’m definitely not saying that he is bad, not at all. I actually like the way he plays. But he is the worst of them three, that’s all.
Neuvirth’s thoughts on Alexander Semin,
I see the leaving of Semin as a huge minus for the team, but then again I think it may do some good. He didn’t have the best work ethic. Maybe now when Ovi will be without him, he will put more into hockey. Maybe that’s what the management was going for. … I think it’s nothing that isn’t well known. If Semin wanted to, he could have been the best player in the world, but he doesn’t want to every day. And that’s wrong.
Szymon Szemberg via twitter: Nail Yakupov’s agent, Igor Larionov, said that if there is a lockout, Yakupov will head to the KHL instead of returning to Sarnia of the OHL.