The Colorado Avalanche are hoping to sign a top prospect soon
Ryan Boulding: Colorado Avalanche manager Chris MacFarland said they hope to sign prospect Calum Ritchie to an entry-level contract “in the near future.”
Evan Rawal: MacFarland said they won’t rush him, but if it looks like he’s ready, there could be a spot for him. The Avs will need to have some low-hit contracts.
The Avalanche will not terminate Valeri Nichushkin’s contract
Evan Rawal: Avalanche GM MacFarland said terminating Valeri Nichushkin’s contract “right now is not an option.”
Rebuilding trust with the team will be difficult.
NHL Rumors: Jonathan Drouin Wants to Stay with Colorado Avalanche
It sounds like the Avs want to bring back Jonathan Drouin
Ryan Boulding: GM MacFarland said he doesn’t think it will be difficult to re-sign pending UFA forward Jonathan Drouin: “It wouldn’t be a challenge to do something there, at this point.”
They reviewed other free agents such as Jack Johnson and Andrew Cogliano.
The Ottawa Senators have a lot of work to do this offseason
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: The Ottawa Senators have scratched a coaching hire off their to-do list since the start of the season, but much remains to be done.
Their ateur scouting meetings were last week. They hold number 7. GM Steve Staios and head coach Travis Green watched the World Series in Prague.
The Senators need to get better goaltending next season. The purchase of Joonas Korpisalo makes no sense. Sources said the Senators tried to sell Korpisalo at the deadline but were unsuccessful. Would the Senators agree to keep the salary and add a bonus? Would someone be interested in Anton Forsberg and his $2.75 million for one more year? Senators asked about Linus Ullmark last time.
It is highly unlikely that defenseman Thomas Chabot will be traded. He had wrist surgery this offseason and is on the 10-team no-trade list starting July 1. Trading Jakob Chychrun before the draft makes sense. Other teams could be interested in Artem Zub, so that could be another option.
The Senators need to improve their third and fourth lines. There will be speculation about Mathieu Joseph, who has two years left at $2.95 million. A veteran like Tyler Toffoli would make sense.
The Sens need to re-sign Shane Pinto. They could be looking at a five- or six-year contract with Pinto asking for something like $5 million per season. They may end up doing a two-year bridge deal.
NHL Rumors: Senators, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, and Leafs
Re-signing pending RFA Parker Kelly shouldn’t be a problem. The Sens will need to decide if they want to qualify defenseman Erik Brannstrom, who is coming off a $2 million deal. The Senators tried to trade Brannstrom at the last minute.
UFA forward Dominik Kubalik will not return and they may not bother signing RFA Boris Katchouk.
