Even though the Calgary Flames acquired Travis Hamonic to round out their top four, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that they’re still trying hard to get Michael Stone under contract before he hits the open market tomorrow. Stone was acquired at the deadline and fit in rather well down the stretch, but was expected to be let go after the Hamonic move.
We ranked Stone #15 on our (rapidly diminishing) Top 50 Free Agent list, projecting a two-year deal worth $7.2MM for him should he hit free agency. Even with their buyouts of Lance Bouma and Ryan Murphy earlier today, it might be tough to fit Stone in at that price given they still owe contracts to Curtis Lazar, Sam Bennett and Micheal Ferland. The Flames have around $13.4MM in cap room, making it definitely possible, but it would mean going into the season with very little wiggle room.
- Andy Strickland of Fox Sports is pumping out the deal information, reporting that Steven Oleksy will likely sign a two-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks, while Anders Nilsson will sign with the Vancouver Canucks. Nilsson was among those hinted at by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet yesterday, linking him to the Vancouver Canucks. If Nilsson does sign with Vancouver, it would mean that Ryan Miller is on the market again with a likely Southern California landing spot. With Anaheim looking for another veteran backup to help shepherd John Gibson along, Miller seems like an obvious candidate.
- Patrick Marleau has a two-year contract offer in hand from the San Jose Sharks according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Whatever Marleau decides to do will likely impact Joe Thornton, as the two remain close. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll head to another team together, but that Marleau re-upping in San Jose could persuade Thornton to do the same. The pair of veteran forwards are some of the biggest names on the market tomorrow, and could legitimately have the biggest impact on their new (or old) teams.