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Erik Karlsson

Matt Duchene To Be Patient With Next Career Move

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Much has been made of the dwindling core of the Ottawa Senators. Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman are gone, Craig Anderson is nearing retirement, and the teams top three forwards are impending unrestricted free agents – that would be Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel. Given the current state and direction of the team, it has been estimated by many that all three could opt for the open market next summer. Stone took a direct approach to those rumors this week, stating that he loves Ottawa and wants to remain with the Senators.

As TSN’s Frank Servalli writes, Duchene is not so eager to decide one way or the other on his future. Earlier this off-season, Duchene said that an extension is something that he would definitely consider, but wanted to see how things go this year. Since then, it has gone from bad to worse in Ottawa with the departure of key players, as well as ownership and the front office committing to a rebuild. It seems very unlikely that the season will go well for the Senators, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will sour Duchene on sticking around. Duchene called last year a “disaster”, both personally and for the Senators and is looking for a fresh take this season. In his first full season with the team, Duchene’s individual performance and his fit in the locker room and in Ottawa’s long-term plan is instead what will likely dictate his next move. Duchene appreciates being close to home in Ottawa and could cherish a role as a leader with the Senators. Then again, polarizing owner Eugene Melnyk has been apprehensive about awarding expensive contracts and Duchene could decide after a strong season that he has a much better chance at getting market value and finding a winning situation with another team.

Sens fans would love to hear that Duchene is committed to the team, and sooner rather than later. After all, Ottawa gave up quite the package to acquire him from the Colorado Avalanche early last season, including what could turn out to be the top overall pick in next year’s entry draft. However, given their recent rash of bad luck, those same fans would rather Duchene be patient with his decision than be yet another player hoping to be dealt away. Unlike Stone, who – after going through the arbitration process – may not re-sign until after January 1st, Duchene is eligible to ink an extension already. Just don’t expect a decision any time soon, though.

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Theodore, Forbort

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While the Sharks ultimately wound up acquiring defenseman Erik Karlsson, Ducks GM Bob Murray acknowledged to Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register that they had discussed a similar package of players.  However, Murray stated that they opted to drop out of the talks when they realized that they wouldn’t have been able to realistically give him a contract extension:

“I couldn’t afford him, so I didn’t hold Pierre (Dorion, Senators GM). I said, ‘Hey, I can give you the things you got.’ I was more than capable of giving him what he got. But, if you can’t afford a person, why are you going to do that?”

While Anaheim has more than $6MM in cap space for the upcoming season (an amount that will drop once they re-sign winger Nick Ritchie), they already have over $69MM committed to just 14 players for 2019-20.  Even if the salary cap goes up again as expected next summer, there’s no way the Ducks would have been able to afford an extension for Karlsson and have enough space to fill out their roster without moving out someone of significance.  Instead, they’ll face off against him in San Jose where GM Doug Wilson is optimistic they can work out a new deal.

More from the Pacific:

  • Golden Knights RFA defenseman Shea Theodore is open to both a short-term bridge deal or a long-term pact, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link). However, the team is not happy with the numbers Theodore’s side has proposed in either case.  While blueliners Josh Morrissey and Darnell Nurse signed nearly identical two-year pacts over the past few days, Theodore doesn’t quite have the track record that the others have as he has just 114 career regular season games (plus 40 postseason contests) under his belt which will make it difficult for him to seek a similar payday.
  • Although he was classified as week-to-week with a back injury at the start of camp, Kings defenseman Derek Forbort may resume skating with the team as early as Saturday, reports Curtis Zupke of the LA Times (Twitter link). The injury was sustained at some point this past summer but if he’s able to participate in practice over the next few days, he should be on track to be available for the start of the season.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators

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If you were heading into the season believing that Jonathan Drouin will be the first-line center for the Montreal Canadiens, you may have to rethink that position. GM Marc Bergevin was on TSN radio today and told Tony Marinaro that he currently projects Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Matthew Peca as the four centers for the Canadiens to start the year. Drouin obviously still could end up at the position at some point given Domi’s lack of experience there, but it sounds like he’ll be starting on the wing.

The Canadiens have been searching for center help for quite some time, and though there is help on the way with prospects Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki—though the latter has played quite a bit of wing as well during his junior career—2018-19 doesn’t look like it will necessarily be any different. For Drouin at least the move might be beneficial, given that he struggled to score last season down the middle with just 13 goals in 77 games.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs meanwhile aren’t handing out roster spots at all to their young players, instead expecting them to earn a role in training camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes that Mike Babcock expects both Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, who are expected to play big roles on the Maple Leafs going forward, to prove that they deserve spots instead of just acting like they’ve “arrived now.” Many Toronto fans are hoping that Dermott will be part of the solution to their perceived defensive woes this season, but he’ll have to convince his head coach that he’s ready before being handed a full-time job.
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion was on CBC radio with Robyn Bresnahan today, speaking about the dilemma he faced with the recent Erik Karlsson situation. Dorion admitted that he knew he couldn’t “get nothing” for Karlsson by watching him walk away in free agency next offseason. Contract negotiations quickly broke down between the two sides this offseason, meaning Dorion felt he “owed it to our fans to tell them what the plan was and before the season started.” The team is quite openly in rebuild mode, and are expected to give plenty of opportunities to young players this season.

Pacific Notes: Carter, Monahan, Karlsson, Reaves

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The Los Angeles Kings were expecting to have a lot of healthy players returning to the fold this season, most especially Jeff Carter, who went down after six games last season when he was cut with a skate across his left leg, cutting tendons and requiring surgery. The 33-year-old finally returned for a 21-games stint at the end of the season and performed well.

However, Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Carter admitted Friday that he’s still not 100 percent and still needs more time to get his ankle back in shape. Coach John Stevens said that it’s not likely Carter’s ankle will ever return to normal.

“I think he really made good progress in terms of getting back to a state of normalcy with his leg. I don’t think it’s ever going to be like it was, but I think he put a lot of work in this summer,” Stevens said. “I think he made big strides in getting closer back to where he was – a little more explosive out of the hole. He didn’t have as much irritation around the joint that he had before. I think he’s a lot further ahead now than he was when he came back last year and played.”

After returning for 21 regular season games, Carter later admitted that his ankle wasn’t truly ready and needed more rehab. Although he scored 12 goals in that span, he struggled with his ankle and was held scoreless in the four-game playoff series against the Golden Knights. Carter’s success is critical for the team’s playoff run as Carter was coming off a 32-goal season the previous year and the team hopes he can duplicate that this year, which might be more difficult for Carter now.

  • After four surgeries this summer, there were a lot of questions whether Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan would truly be healthy at the start of the season. However, the Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes that Monahan looked good to go as Monahan potted a goal in their preseason opener Saturday morning against Boston. Despite struggling through a season with numerous nagging injuries, including issues with his wrist, Monahan still managed to post 31 goals last season. Now with a healthy wrist, among other things, he looks ready to improve on that. “I liked his game. I really liked it,” said teammate Mark Giordano. “He had a deadly shot with a half a wrist. So now that he’s fully healed, his hips are good, his groins are good, his wrist is good … I’m excited.”
  • While there was never any rumors surrounding Erik Karlsson and the Edmonton Oilers, many fans around the league were quite outraged when they saw Karlsson headed to division-foe San Jose instead. Considering their desperate need for a dominant defenseman and the fact that the Sharks didn’t give up any significant roster players in the trade, the Oilers were never in any negotiations, because Karlsson had no interest in going there, according to the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples. “You know, he’d be nice to have here,” said Chiarelli. “We weren’t on his list. It was really a non-starter from the beginning. But they got one puck over there, they got a lot of good defenceman. So we’ll see what happens there. But that’s a heckuva ‘d’ over there now.”
  • Las Vegas Sun’s Jesse Granger reports that Vegas Golden Knights’ bruiser Ryan Reaves suffered a skate to the face Friday near his left eye, requiring 20 stitches. The injury was very close to his left eye, making him a lucky man. The 31-year-old winger was signed to a two-year deal this offseason at $2.78MM AAV despite only posting four goals and 10 points between Pittsburgh and Vegas last season. Reaves, however, blended well into Vegas’ locker room and provided an impact on the team’s energy line. He was already back on the ice Saturday.

 

Jean-Gabriel Pageau Suffers Injury In Fitness Testing

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Friday: The Senators have confirmed that Pageau suffered a torn Achilles, and will miss a minimum of six months.

Thursday: For Ottawa Senators fans, today is not a good day. After the team dealt away franchise defenseman Erik Karlsson, they have also been dealt a hefty injury blow during the first day of training camp. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was injured during the morning fitness testing, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that he could need surgery and a four to six month recovery timeline to repair an Achilles tendon.

Pageau was penciled into the second line center role for the Senators this season and is coming off another fine season with 14 goals and 29 points. A playoff hero in 2017, the 25-year old is a solid two-way player that can take on tough defensive matchups and be a contributor in all situations. If he’s forced to miss months that role probably will go to newly acquired Chris Tierney, and clearly weakens the Senators overall.

With just two years remaining on his current contract Pageau was repeatedly asked about in trade talks this offseason and is still likely one of the Senators biggest chips. Many teams would love to have a reliable player like him in the bottom half of their lineup, especially given his relatively inexpensive $3.1MM cap hit. With an injury like this those phone calls may stop for a while, but not forever. If the Senators are truly committed to an entire rebuild, you can bet Pageau’s name will resurface down the line as a potential option for teams looking at center help.

The team will address the recovery timeline tomorrow.

More On Erik Karlsson Trade: Pick Conditions, Extension, Colorado

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Perhaps the biggest move of the off-season was completed earlier today, when Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson was traded by the Ottawa Senators to the San Jose Sharks. The return: two-way NHL forward Chris Tierney, rookie forward Rudolfs Balcers, collegiate center and 2017 first-round pick Josh Norris, young depth defenseman Dylan DeMelo, and four draft picks. While the Senators don’t know for sure how the likes of Norris and Balcers will pan out, the players acquired in this deal are somewhat identifiable assets with ascertainable ceilings. The picks carry far more potential; however they also each carry conditions. The earliest possible pick chronologically would be a 2019 first-round pick. The Sharks owe the Buffalo Sabres their first round pick in the next NHL Draft as a condition for re-signing winger Evander Kane, but with the additional condition that they make the playoffs. Should they miss the playoffs – a catastrophic result for a team that now has meteoric expectations – the team could opt to send that pick to Ottawa and their 2020 first-rounder to Buffalo if they so choose. If not, and the Sharks make the playoffs as expected, the Senators will land that 2020 first-round pick.

Ottawa will still have an early pick from San Jose in June though, perhaps even earlier than expected. The condition on that pick is that it is the highest of the second-round picks owned by the Sharks: their own and the Florida Panthers’, which ironically was part of the return from the Sharks’ flip of former Ottawa forward Mike Hoffman earlier this year. Florida is expected to improve this season, but playing in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs means the Panthers face an uphill battle to make the playoffs and could easily end up with a draft slot in the first half of the second round. Whereas, the Sharks should by all accounts be a playoff team and more in the coming season.

Speaking of Hoffman, the Senators learned from that experience with Sharks GM Doug Wilson. As Sportsnet’s  Chris Johnston notes, Ottawa threw in what may as well be a “Mike Hoffman Clause”. After San Jose traded for Hoffman only to trade him hours later to one of the Senators’ division rivals, GM Pierre Dorion added a conditional future first-round pick if Karlsson is traded back to the Eastern Conference this season. The pick must be exchanged by 2022 at the latest.

Finally, the Sharks sent a 2021 second-round pick to the Senators that carries two conditions. The pick itself is conditional upon San Jose re-signing Karlsson, whose current contract expires at the end of the season. If the Sharks both appear in the Stanley Cup Final this year and extend Karlsson, that pick becomes a first-rounder. In summary, at worst the Senators will receive a second-rounder in 2019 and the Sharks’ first-rounder in 2020 and at best they receive three first-round picks between now and 2022 and potentially a first-round and early second-round pick next year.

  • One condition that is already looking good for the Senators is the one that hinges on Karlsson re-signing in San Jose. Although there has been no word from the star defenseman’s camp on his future or thoughts on a contract extension, Wilson already has the future in mind. Although the relatively underwhelming return for a player of Karlsson’s caliber reflects the risk of just one year remaining on his salary, Wilson made the deal with hopes of keeping him around for much longer. Wilson told the gathered media this afternoon that “It’s a long-term approach and we think Erik fits for now and for a long time.” While Karlsson has been clear that he wants to be the highest paid defenseman in the NHL and that would be best served on the open market, the Sharks have the salary cap composition moving forward to meet his contract demands. If the season goes according to plan and the Sharks win or come close to winning the Stanley Cup, with Karlsson playing a key role for what on paper looks like the best defense in the league, he could be tempted to skip free agency and re-sign in San Jose.
  • Although the Karlsson trade was between just two teams, there is no way to truly evaluate the reverberations of this trade without discussing the Colorado Avalanche. The Senators have changed the tone of their public relations approach following this trade, being clear that they have entered a rebuild. However, the fact remains that the Senators don’t own their first-round pick next season. That selection belongs to the Avs as part of the Matt Duchene trade. With Karlsson’s departure, the team that many pegged to be the worst in the league has now lost their best player and have an even better chance of finishing the season in 31st place. This would also give them the best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery and the best odds of drafting projected franchise center Jack Hughes. However, that fate belongs to Colorado, who now stand a very high chance of seeing an already lopsided return for Duchene reach its maximum value. The 2018-19 Senators season will now likely matter more to Avalanche fans than it does to their own. To make matters worse, publicly committing to a rebuild could mean that Duchene, an impending unrestricted free agent, doesn’t even last the season on the Ottawa roster.

Erik Karlsson Traded To San Jose Sharks

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The San Jose Sharks missed out on several of their trade targets this offseason, but will come out with arguably the best available player. Ottawa Senators captain and superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson has been traded to the Sharks. In exchange the Senators will receive a 2020 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick, Chris Tierney, Josh Norris, Rudolfs Balcers and Dylan DeMelo. The Senators will also receive a 2021 second-round pick if Karlsson re-signs with the Sharks and an additional first-round pick no later than 2022 if the Sharks trade Karlsson back to an Eastern Conference team. That 2021 second would also upgrade to a first if San Jose reaches the Stanley Cup Final next season. Francis Perron will also be going to the Sharks with Karlsson.

After months of speculation and rumor, the Senators have finally moved Karlsson to the highest bidder. The deal does not come with a pre-arranged contract extension, but will avoid the distraction of Karlsson suiting up for the first on-ice session of training camp tomorrow. The 28-year old defenseman did however finally address the media, and made it clear that he and his family will be living in Ottawa for the rest of his life despite the trade. Karlsson explained that he had at one point believed that he would spend his entire career in Ottawa, and was fighting back tears as he said goodbye to the room full of media.

For San Jose, the acquisition of Karlsson immediately jumps their defense group to one of the best in the NHL. Already loaded with talent like Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the team can now match just about any line in the league with a pair of defenders capable of driving play. That’s very important in the Pacific Division, where several teams were all competing for playoff spots without any real standout contenders. The Sharks have now become that expected favorite for the division, and should rival the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference. That’s assuming that Karlsson can quickly become assimilated into the group and is fully recovered from the ankle injury that derailed the first part of the 2017-18 season.

In a league where good right-handed defensemen are rare, Karlsson and Burns are arguably—along with Drew Doughty—two of the top three options in the NHL. At both even-strength and on the powerplay, the Sharks should be incredibly dangerous and haven’t given up a ton from their current roster.

Tierney, 24, is the biggest NHL piece and should help a Senators forward group that is expected to struggle offensively. Last season playing down in the lineup, Tierney recorded 17 goals and 40 points and just started to show what he was capable of. The two-way center was selected 55th-overall in 2012, and hadn’t cracked 15 goals or 30 points in his previous seasons. In Ottawa, there is a good chance that he could be given a much bigger opportunity—especially given the news that Jean-Gabriel Pageau could miss significant time—and take on some real responsibility in the top six.

DeMelo too should see increased playing time in Ottawa after his solid 2017-18 season in San Jose. Exposed to the expansion draft but passed over by the Vegas Golden Knights, he played in a career high 63 games with the Sharks and recorded 20 points in limited minutes. That total would have been good for third on the Senators last year behind only Karlsson and Thomas Chabot, meaning there’s a very real chance that DeMelo sees powerplay time and a big jump in ice time. Whether he can parlay that into improved production is unclear, especially when moving to an Atlantic Division that has some of the league’s best forward lines.

Though Tierney and DeMelo will likely both play significant roles on the Senators this season, it is in Norris and Balcers that the trade value really lies. The former was selected in the first round in 2017 and had a very good freshman season at the University of Michigan, while the latter turned in an outstanding rookie year in the AHL and could potentially make the jump to the NHL right away. Balcers scored 48 points in 67 games for the San Jose Barracuda, proving that he is worth much more than the fifth-round selection the Sharks used to get him in 2015.

Norris isn’t currently signed and poses some risk as a collegiate prospect, but given that he is best friends with new Senators prospect Brady Tkachuk and still only entering his sophomore season there’s still little doubt that he will eventually be signed to his entry-level deal. His development will be an absolute key to this trade providing much value for the Senators, as some have projected Norris as a legitimate two-way force at center ice.

While the Senators did get some real value, it’s hard to not be ecstatic if you are a fan of the San Jose Sharks. The team has added one of the very best players in the entire world and can now legitimately say they are a Stanley Cup contender going into 2018-19. Getting Karlsson signed to a contract extension is a real must given that they’ve almost completely rid themselves of high draft picks the next few seasons—the team still owes the Buffalo Sabres their 2019 first for re-signing Evander Kane—but at this point GM Doug Wilson has decided to “go for it” while Burns, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski are still capable players.

One important thing to note following this trade is the position of the Colorado Avalanche, who own the Senators first-round pick for this season. With Karlsson gone and Mark Stone and Matt Duchene possibly following at some point, many are expecting the Senators to end the season near the very bottom of the standings. The Senators recently decided to keep their 2018 fourth overall pick and select Tkachuk instead of handing it to the Avalanche, and could potentially end up giving up the top selection next June. That still is to be determined given that even last place in the league has less than an 20% chance at selecting first with the current odds of the draft lottery, but Avalanche fans can look forward to another top prospect entering the organization before long.

Erik Karlsson Trade Watch Continues

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After a report yesterday that things were getting closer to a resolution on the Erik Karlsson situation in Ottawa, we have another hockey insider saying trade talks are picking up on the Senators captain. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that there has been a “decided increase” in trade talks over the last day or two, and adds that he believes the Western Conference is still the likely destination.

The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have both been connected to Karlsson in the past, though there was some doubt in Dallas’ ongoing involvement yesterday. Beyond the Golden Knights there are countless teams that could use a player of Karlsson’s stature, though at this point it is hard to predict who would step up and hand over the immense package that the Senators are looking for. A team like the Edmonton Oilers would obviously love to have a star right-handed defenseman like Karlsson come in, but given their current cap situation it’s not surprising that they haven’t yet been publicly linked. That issue isn’t unique to the Oilers though, as Karlsson carries a substantial $6.5MM cap hit for this season and is likely looking for somewhere around $11MM on a long-term extension.

Karlsson for his part did show up at the Senators golf tournament yesterday and though he still avoided speaking to media, is expected to take part in all of training camp if a trade is not finalized. The Senators are taking medicals this morning and will start the on-ice portion tomorrow—though, as of this writing Karlsson still has not checked in. McKenzie notes that the the “obvious goal” is to try and get something done before those on-ice sessions begin.

Latest On Erik Karlsson Trade Talks

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Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson remains the most prominent defenseman available on the trade front and it there have been a few times already when a move looked imminent.  In an interview on TSN 1050 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger noted that there is a growing sense that a trade could happen in the next day or two.

Similar to what happened with the Canadiens and Max Pacioretty, the beginning of training camp could serve as an artificial deadline in an effort to try to get something done before Karlsson’s situation becomes the focal point of media attention.

Dreger noted that the Stars, who were at one point viewed as the front-runner for Karlsson’s services, do not appear to be in the hunt at the moment.  He suggests that the recent managerial change in Tampa Bay could wind up sparking something while he believes that Vegas could still be in the mix as well despite moving one of their top trade chips in prospect Nick Suzuki to Montreal as part of the Pacioretty deal.  David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal echoes that sentiment, adding (Twitter link) that the Golden Knights have upped their efforts to get a deal done.  It’s believed that Ottawa has already turned down an offer that included six elements – two roster players, two prospects, and two draft picks although that was contingent on the acquiring team working out an extension.

Karlsson is in the final year of his contract with a $6.5MM cap hit and a $7.5MM salary.  The Sens offered him a long-term extension when the window to do so opened up in July and it has previously been reported to range between $10MM and $11MM per season but it was quickly rejected.  It’s likely that if and when he does get moved, his new deal should still wind up between those two amounts.

The 28-year-old is coming off of a bit of a quieter year by his standards but still put up 62 points (9-53-62) in 71 games while logging 26:44 per night, his lowest average since 2011-12.  However, he was slowed down at the beginning of the year with an ankle issue but indicated earlier this summer that he has fully recovered from it.

Karlsson’s status has been one of the dominant storylines of the offseason but it appears that this one could be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

Snapshots: Seattle, Reinhart, Senators, Jokinen

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While they still don’t officially have a team yet, that isn’t stopping Seattle from starting the process of assembling their front office.  In an interview with 950 KJR (audio link), Dave Tippett (a senior advisor for the prospective franchise) indicated that he plans to begin the search for their inaugural general manager in the spring with the goal of having that person in place by the draft.  Assuming the franchise is eventually granted, we’re still potentially a couple of years away from this team entering the league but that would allow the team ample time to put together its scouting staff which will be crucial as they begin to scout potential picks for not only the regular draft but the expansion one as well.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • While Sabres forward Sam Reinhart is in town and participating in informal skates with the team in advance of training camp, it’s not a sign that a new deal is close to happening. GM Jason Botterill told Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News that they remain hopeful that they will reach an agreement with the restricted free agent but didn’t provide an update on how negotiations are going.  It’s believed that the 22-year-old is seeking a long-term deal but with the preseason fast approaching, there’s certainly a chance that they could shift their focus to a short-term pact instead.
  • Trade talks regarding Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson have picked up in recent weeks, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. As for their other prominent pending restricted free agents, Garrioch suggests that Ottawa’s belief is that center Matt Duchene and winger Mark Stone could still be a part of their long-term future.  If that’s the case, they won’t be engaging in trade discussions involving those two for a while.
  • Jussi Jokinen’s tryout with the Red Wings actually came at his request and not Detroit’s, notes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The veteran winger played for Dan Bylsma (who joined the team as an assistant coach this offseason) back in Pittsburgh and obviously was comfortable with his coaching style.  GM Ken Holland acknowledged that their priority remains to take a look at their younger players but stated that they will give the 35-year-old a few preseason games as well.

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