Contract talks are going well between the Coyotes and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that teams inquiring about his availability in a trade are being told that he is not available while Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan adds that an extension is close. Arizona had reportedly offered an eight-year, $66MM earlier this offseason and it appears that the new contract will come in at or around that amount. The belief was that if they couldn’t come to terms on an extension, the team would then turn around and try to move him this offseason, something that appears to be off the table now. However, nothing can be finalized until July 1st as players cannot sign contract extensions until they are officially in the final year of their existing deal.
More from around the NHL:
- The Kings have signed Assistant GM Mike Futa to a contract extension, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Curtis Zupke of the LA Times adds (Twitter link) that it’s a multi-year deal. Futa has been with Los Angeles since 2007, holding down a variety of positions including Director of Player Personnel, Amateur Scouting Director, and VP of Hockey Operations. He has been interviewed for several GM spots around the league in recent years including Carolina’s vacancy earlier this year (that was later filled by Don Waddell).
- The Islanders intend to have their new head coach in place by the middle of next week, reports Chris Botta of Sportsnet New York. They are the only team without a bench boss and it makes sense that they would want to get someone in place before the free agent interview period opens up following the draft. Botta adds that Scott Stevens, who resigned from his role as an assistant coach with Minnesota last month, is in the mix for a spot on the coaching staff.
- While prospect and development camps won’t occur until after the draft, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a list of who will be attending camp with the Blues near the end of June. Among the notable invites are top prospects Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou while three non-drafted players will also get a look – wingers Ty Amonte (Boston University) and Jared Thomas (Minnesota-Duluth), plus center Austin Rueschhoff (Western Michigan).