The Florida Panthers and Eetu Luostarinen are working toward a contract extension, and that one could come together quickly. Pierre LeBrun reported that the two sides have been in talks, with Luostarinen entering the final year of his deal at a $3 million cap hit. An announcement could happen as early as today.
Elsewhere on the market, San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro is drawing a lot of attention. David Pagnotta said there is considerable interest in the pending UFA, and he noted that the Toronto Maple Leafs could be in the mix if they were to move Morgan Rielly.
The New York Islanders also checked in on Alexander Romanov around draft weekend. Pagnotta said the team spoke with multiple clubs about the defenseman, but those conversations never gained traction.
In Carolina, Elliotte Friedman said on the FAN Hockey Show that the Hurricanes offered Alexander Nikishin a long-term contract, but he turned it down. Friedman said, ” I think offered him a long-term deal and I think he turned it down; I’m assuming it was one of those Jackson Blake kinda deals.” Blake’s agreement was for eight-years at a $5.117 million cap hit.
Vancouver defenseman Marcus Pettersson has also entered the rumor conversation. Friedman mentioned him on Oilers Now alongside the more familiar Canucks names Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.
As for Elias Pettersson, the latest word sounds far from active. Darren Dreger told Sekeres and Price that the situation is basically stalled.
When asked for an update, Dreger said, “Crickets. Yeah, pretty quiet.
And that’s not a shock or surprise to any of us, is it? You know, that, that’s one where the Canucks are gonna have to eat a pile of money to encourage somebody to engage.
And I’m not saying that they’re unwilling to do that, but as far as my sources are, and they’re good on this file, that, that side, the player side, has not been brought anything from the Vancouver Canucks that even remotely describes a level of interest.”
Friedman added on Oilers Now that, “I think they would rather take back a contract with less term than eat money.”
In Other News...
Former Canucks Center Moves On With A Parting Shot That Stings
Teddy Blueger is on the move again after a productive but injury-affected season in Vancouver, landing back in a familiar kind of role as he looks to carve out a spot in a crowded center mix. The veteran pivot had helped the Canucks in a depth capacity before health issues interrupted his rhythm, and now he gets a fresh chance to settle into a bottom-six job elsewhere.
For Vancouver, his exit closes the book on a player the club had reason to keep around, especially after it could not find a trade partner at the deadline and had interest in bringing him back. Instead, Blueger heads into a new competition for minutes, while the Canucks are left to absorb the sting of a departure that might have been preventable. [Read more 🡒]
Two Former Canucks Just Made Free Agency A Lot More Complicated
A pair of former Canucks found new homes in free agency, and both moves add another layer to Vancouvers offseason ledger. Vincent Desharnais, whose path since leaving the Canucks has already included stops in Pittsburgh and San Jose after Vancouver moved him in the Marcus Pettersson-Drew OConnor cap-dump deal, has now landed with Washington, while Danila Klimovich is headed to Philadelphia after spending last season in Abbotsford.
Klimovichs departure is the one that will matter most to Canucks followers, because Vancouver chose not to qualify his contract and opened the door for him to reach unrestricted free agency. The 22-year-old prospect had shown enough in the AHL to stay on the radar, but now he gets a fresh start elsewhere, leaving the Canucks with one more former piece circulating through the league and one more decision to answer for in the months ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans Wont Love What This Marcus Pettersson Move Suggests
Marcus Petterssons latest movement is the kind of update Canucks fans were always going to track closely, because it reaches back to a decision Vancouver made only months ago when it brought him in as part of the J.T. Miller return. Pettersson arrived as a long-term blue-line piece, and the fact that he is under contract through 2030-31 gave the move real weight for a team still trying to stabilize its defense and build around it.
Now the wrinkle is that Pettersson had to waive his no-movement clause to make the deal happen, which is a sign of how far this has progressed. The return is not expected to include NHL players, so for Vancouver the focus shifts less to who is coming back and more to what it says about the organizations plans for a player it had penciled in as part of the future. [Read more 🡒]