Rising cap changes position Kaprizov, the Wild, and others
TSN: Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold is confident that GM Bill Guerin can get a deal done with Kirill Kaprizov. The rising salary cap is complicating things.
“That’s a lot of new money in the system that, frankly, a year or two ago we certainly had no idea was going to be available,” Leipold said. ”So, it does change things, but we have to change with it.”
Could Anze Kopitar’s two-year deal be a blueprint for Artemi Panarin?
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast was talking about New York Rangers pending UFA forward Artemi Panarin, and he wonders if Anze Kopitar’s two-year extension with the LA Kings for $7 million a season that he signed just before his 36th birthday, could be a blueprint for Panarin’s next deal. Panarin will turn 34 next month.
NHL Injuries: Blackhawks, Panthers, Canadiens, Rangers, Lightning, Leafs, and Canucks
“I understand, at some point in the off-season, the Rangers had that kind of conceptual conversation with Panarin: ‘Is there a way you could do for the Rangers what Kopitar did for the Kings?’” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts. “Obviously, at this point and time, it hasn’t happened. I don’t know where that’s going to go, I don’t know if that’s going to be a possibility, but I do know the two sides had the conversation and, obviously, at this point, Panarin is unsigned.”
The Vancouver Canucks and Kiefer Sherwood are talking extension
Ben Kuzma of The Province: 30-year-old Kiefer Sherwood is entering the final year of his contract at $1.5 million. He’s coming off a 19-goal, NHL record 462 hits, season. Extension talks went quiet earlier this offseason, and he switched agents in August. The sides are talking and they’ll continue.
“We like Kiefer a lot and he fits in with the group, but there’s no rush. We continue to talk. I have a fairly good relationship with most of the agents, so nothing is really going to change here.”
NHL Rumors: Colorado Avalanche, and the Calgary Flames
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