Avs Martin Necas and Jack Drury may not be in a rush to sign an extension
Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette: (mailbag) Defenseman Erik Johnson signing a PTO with the Colorado Avalanche is possible. If he was left-handed, he may already have gotten a PTO from the Avs. If the Avs decide to trade Sam Malinski for a forward or a different type of defenseman, bringing Johnson back is a no-brainer.
Don’t see why Martin Necas, Kyle Connor or Adrian Kempe would sign an extension before the Kirill Kaprizov is signed. He’s going to set the winger market. Everyone may be waiting to see what happens with Kaprizov and Connor McDavid, but it would be interesting to see who makes the first move if those two don’t.
25-year-old Jack Drury is entering the final year of his contract. If Drury shows he can handle the third-line center position, he could earn an extension, and it would eliminate the need for the Avs to acquire one at the trade deadline.
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Trade talk is picking up, but there are more buyers than sellers
James Murphy of RG Media: Earlier this week, an NHL executive said that talk picked up around the league at the GM meetings and added that “there are more buyers than sellers still.”
Mason McTavish is the biggest name out there, and trade rumors are picking up with the Anaheim Ducks’ RFA center. Another NHL executive said there hasn’t been any indication that the Ducks and McTavish are at an impasse.
“He hasn’t sent the bat signal out yet that it’s time to talk trade and take the best offer,” this executive said of Verbeek. “The pressure point of camp is coming, but right now they’re not there yet, and I’m not sure they ever get there.”
There have been many reports of teams looking for a 2C, but one source adds, how many are really available. Marco Rossi re-signed, as his market may not have been that big.
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Names that have popped up this offseason include Rossi, McTavish, Jared McCann, Nazem Kadri, Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha. Teams that may be looking include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Montreal Canadiens.
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