The Bruins have expressed an interest in Lightning pending RFA defenseman Slater Koekkoek, NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty reports (Twitter link). The tenth overall pick in 2012 has yet to progress beyond the level of a depth defenseman and could be a candidate for a change of scenery. However, Tampa Bay has been in contract talks with Koekkoek, per Joe Smith of The Athletic (via Twitter). Given that the two teams are division rivals, both Haggerty and Smith think a trade is unlikely although Haggerty suggests that the Oilers could be a landing spot for the 24-year-old if he winds up being dealt.
More from the East:
- Also from Haggerty, the Bruins have checked in on UFA winger Michael Grabner. Boston had shown interest in the speedster back at the trade deadline before they ultimately wound up acquiring Rick Nash. Grabner scored 27 goals in 2017-18 (the third-most among all unrestricted free agents) and is believed to have interest from several teams already.
- The Penguins are open to dealing RFA goaltender Tristan Jarry, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in an appearance on TSN 690 (audio link). The 23-year-old is believed by some to have starter upside but with Matt Murray in the fold ahead of him, that opportunity isn’t likely to come in Pittsburgh. This doesn’t appear to be a situation where the team is shopping him but if a team decides to ignore the veteran free agent options out there in the hopes of acquiring someone that could fit for the longer-term, Jarry would be one player to watch for.
- The Islanders are among the teams that have kicked the tires on Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (video link). The 37-year-old requested a trade earlier this month but with free agency being so close, it’s hard to imagine teams will want to give up anything of significance when they can simply sign a similar goalie for free on the open market. Anderson is set to start his new two-year contract on Sunday, one that carries a $4.75MM cap hit but a $5.5MM salary.
- Former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has joined the Devils as the team announced that he has been hired as a senior advisor to GM Ray Shero. This won’t be the first time the two work together as Fletcher was Shero’s assistant GM for three years with the Penguins from 2006-07 to 2008-09.