The Florida Panthers made another splash on the free agent market Saturday by signing Jason Demers to a tidy five-year, $22.5-million contract.
Options have thinned out significantly, but a number of familiar names remain without a new contract three days into this summer’s free agent frenzy.
Keep it here for the latest gossip surrounding the remaining crop of free agents.
Doan “not worried” about deal with Coyotes
While Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka has been busy signing the likes of Alex Goligoski and Jamie McGinn and acquiring Pavel Datsyuk‘s contract at the NHL Draft, the team’s captain Shane Doan remains an unrestricted free agent.
Move along, there’s nothing much to read into here. It appears Doan’s camp is simply waiting out the first phase of Chayka’s off-season retooling plan, according to the latest update from Sarah McLellan at the Arizona Republic.
“I’m not worried,” Doan said. “You understand they’re trying to put the team together and get it all in place and do what they need to do. I obviously want to get a contract that I think is fair to me, too. It is what it is.”
McLellan adds that the two sides have been engaged in talks on a daily basis and that it’s more likely Doan signs a one-year deal with the Coyotes as opposed to a rumoured two-year pact.
Expect Doan to be wearing the ‘C’ in maroon and white for 2016-17.
Bruins feeling out fit for Russell?
Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney is in search of blue line help, this much we know. Free agent defenceman Kris Russell is a potential target, according to CSNNE.com‘s Joe Haggerty.
Russell was rumoured to be near a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend, although nothing came to fruition as of Sunday morning.
Sweeney could also opt for the trade route to upgrade his defence corps, as Haggerty noted in his recent column.
