Will Martin Necas price himself out of Colorado, and is Patrik Laine playing himself out of Montreal?
Michael Amato of Sportsnet: Martin Necas put up a career-high 83 points last season, and will top 90 this season playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. With the rising cap and up to date comparables, Necas might be searching for over $10 million a season. He might not be far off from Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million. Will Necas price himself out of Colorado like Rantanen did?
Necas likely won’t get greater than MacKinnon’s $12.6 million, but a Cale Makar extension might be more. Makar is eligible for an extension this offseason, and he could possibly be Kirill Kaprizov range. Going $10-$11 million for Necas could make things tight.
Do the Avs play out the 12 months with Necas and potentially lose him for nothing, or do they move him before the deadline like they did with Rantanen?
Patrik Laine appears to be falling out of favor with head coach Martin St. Louis, dating back to the top of last season. Laine’s been playing on the fourth line, while within the last season of his contract at $8.7 million. The 27-year-old could possibly be searching for a change of scenery next season if he doesn’t turn things around.
Unanswered questions and family kept Evgeny Kuznetsov from returning to the NHL this season
Sammi Silber of The Hockey News: The 33-year-old Evgeny Kuznetsov said that he did have NHL offers, but ultimately, he decided to sign with Metallurg of the KHL. He told MatchTV that he desired to play within the KHL for not less than yet one more 12 months due to unanswered questions on his play.
There was a rumor that the Pittsburgh Penguins were considered one of the interested teams, but Kuznetsov said that wasn’t true.
“I didn’t have an option with Pittsburgh — they said no straight away.”
Kuznetsov noted to Sport-Express that he desired to remain near family as well.
“I don’t know why nobody believes I had NHL offers. I just didn’t wish to return there myself. As I said, there are too many questions on my game from individuals who, in my view, don’t understand hockey. And I need to not prove something to them, but to please (my) relatives and friends with a great season. So I didn’t wish to go far — I desired to be there for folks, children, wife, perhaps even a grandmother could come to the games.”
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