The Winnipeg Jets appear set on reuniting with one of their former centers, as the club is nearing a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights for Paul Stastny, multiple sources told the Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.

One or more draft picks from both teams would be involved in the trade, according to Murat Ates of The Athletic. It's reportedly expected to be made official Friday.

The Jets originally landed Stastny in a swap with the St. Louis Blues at the 2018 trade deadline. He clicked with star wingers Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers while helping Winnipeg reach the Western Conference Final, but the Golden Knights eliminated the Jets in that series.

The forward then signed with Vegas on the first day of free agency after that season and has played for the Golden Knights ever since.

Winnipeg has a need up the middle due to uncertainty about Bryan Little's future.

Stastny, 34, is entering the final campaign of the three-year deal he signed with the Golden Knights two years ago. He carries a $6.5-million cap hit.

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The Chicago Blackhawks will likely hang on to Malcolm Subban after all.

Despite not giving him a qualifying offer before Wednesday's deadline, the team is expected to re-sign the goaltender over the next few days, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Subban became a pending unrestricted free agent after the Blackhawks' decision Wednesday. He would have remained an RFA had Chicago qualified him.

The netminder suited up for one game with the Blackhawks this past season after the Vegas Golden Knights traded him to Chicago as part of the package that netted them Robin Lehner.

Subban will turn 27 in December. He spent parts of the last three seasons in a backup role with the Golden Knights after beginning his career with the Boston Bruins, who drafted him 24th overall in 2012.

Collin Delia, another 26-year-old puck-stopper, is also in the Blackhawks organization. He spent all of 2019-20 in the AHL, but Delia played 18 NHL contests over the previous two campaigns.

Chicago general manager Stan Bowman said earlier Thursday that the club won't retain Corey Crawford. The veteran goalie played 13 seasons with the Blackhawks, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets dealt defenseman Ryan Murray to the New Jersey Devils for a 2021 fifth-round selection, the clubs announced Thursday.

Murray was limited to 27 games in 2019-20. Injuries have been an issue throughout his career, as he suited up for only 56 contests the season prior and 44 in 2017-18. The 27-year-old has played an average of just 50 NHL games each season over his seven campaigns.

Columbus gained some flexibility with a trio of moves Thursday.

The Blue Jackets selected Murray second overall in 2012.

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The Buffalo Sabres and forward Zemgus Girgensons have agreed to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $2.2 million, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

Girgensons was a pending unrestricted free agent. The 26-year-old produced 12 goals and seven assists over 69 games in 2019-20.

He's failed to match the career highs of 15 goals and 30 points he posted in 2014-15; he was named an All-Star that season thanks in large part to a slew of votes from his native Latvia.

Girgensons earned $1.6 million on a one-year pact he inked in July 2019.

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The Montreal Canadiens inked newly acquired forward Josh Anderson to a seven-year contract carrying an average annual value of $5.5 million, the club announced Thursday.

Anderson's pact includes a no-trade clause and breaks down as follows, according to TSN's Darren Dreger:

The Canadiens will pay Anderson entirely in salary as no signing bonuses are included, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Montreal landed him in the trade that sent Max Domi and a third-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Anderson was a pending restricted free agent coming off a three-year deal worth $1.85 million per season. The 26-year-old posted only one goal and three assists over 26 games in 2019-20 after missing much of the campaign due to injury.

He collected 27 goals and 47 points while playing all 82 contests for Columbus in 2018-19, and he buried 19 goals across only 63 games one season prior. Anderson notched 17 goals in 78 contests while averaging only 12 minutes of ice time during his first full NHL campaign in 2016-17.

The Blue Jackets selected the 6-foot-3, 222-pound winger 95th overall in 2012.

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The defending Stanley Cup champions find themselves in quite a bind this offseason.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have under $5 million in projected salary-cap space with three key restricted free agents in need of new contracts: Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak.

Keeping all three RFAs will be no easy task. Though teams can exceed the cap by 10% in the offseason, general manager Julien BriseBois must shed significant salary before he can hand out contracts to his three important youngsters. If he doesn't lock them into new deals before free agency opens Friday at noon ET, they'll be free to sign offer sheets from cap-rich teams, putting BriseBois in a pickle.

Offer sheets are extremely rare - mainly because it typically takes an absurd proposal to keep an RFA's team from matching. But that's not the case this offseason. Another club could potentially sign Cirelli, Sergachev, or Cernak to a reasonable offer sheet that still leaves BriseBois unable to match.

What will the RFAs cost?

Before we dive into the deals the Lightning's RFAs could command, it's important to keep offer-sheet compensation in mind:

Let's start with Cirelli. Centers are extremely difficult to come by in the NHL. There's none of significance hitting unrestricted free agency this offseason and few available via trade. Cirelli is no ordinary pivot, either. He's one of the best defensive centers in the game - he finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting this past season - and is only 23 years old.

With favorable weather, minimal media attention, and no state income tax, Tampa is arguably the most desirable location for NHL players. But even on a bridge deal, Cirelli would likely cost the Bolts at least $4.5 million per season. He shouldn't approach the $6.75-million average annual value teammate Brayden Point secured last offseason, but he's certainly worth far more than Jakub Vrana's $3.35-million annual cap hit - even after accounting for Tampa's tax advantage.

With an offer sheet, however, it wouldn't be shocking if a center-needy team offered a seven-year pact with an AAV of around $8.5 million. Such an offer would cost the submitting club a first-, a second-, and a third-round pick. That may seem pricey now, but as a potential perennial Selke Trophy candidate, Cirelli could easily end up being worth the commitment.

Sergachev has had the luxury of playing behind Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh to begin his career, but the former ninth overall pick has flashed potential as a No. 1 blue-liner despite facing softer matchups. A bridge deal would likely cost the Lightning at least $3.5 million per season, appropriately slotting Sergachev somewhere between Charlie McAvoy's $4.9-million cap hit and Brandon Carlo's $2.85-million AAV (both players signed their current deals in 2019).

Considering Sergachev's upside, a seven-year contract in the range of $8 million a season is realistic as far as offer sheets go. Like the hypothetical Cirelli offer sheet, that deal would cost the poaching team a first-, a second-, and a third-round pick - and would be next to impossible for the Bolts to match in their current state.

Cernak is clearly not on the same level as Cirelli or Sergachev, but physical right-handed defensemen like him are highly coveted around the league. He would likely only cost around $2 million per season - slightly less than Carlo - for the Lightning to retain on a bridge deal. But another team could value him at a $4.36-million AAV on a five-year offer sheet, which would only cost the suitor a second-round pick. If the Lightning prioritize new deals for Cirelli and Sergachev before turning to Cernak, such a contract could become too rich for Tampa Bay.

Who will be traded to make cap room?

Even if the Lightning manage to re-sign Cirelli, Sergachev, and Cernak to our conservative bridge-deal estimates, they'll be roughly $6.5 million over the cap - while carrying just 18 skaters and two goalies. That means Tampa Bay must move out at least two rather large contracts.

The Lightning reportedly consider Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Point, and Hedman to be untouchable. We also don't anticipate a Steven Stamkos trade. Beyond those five, the players with the four largest annual cap hits all have full no-trade clauses: McDonagh ($6.75 million), Ondrej Palat ($5.3 million), Yanni Gourde ($5.16 million), and Tyler Johnson ($5 million).

Fortunately for the team, Johnson has reportedly provided a list of several clubs he'd be willing to join in a trade. Lightning fans can basically say their farewells at this point.

Alex Killorn also seems likely to be dealt. He's the only non-core player with a high AAV ($4.45 million) who doesn't have a full no-trade clause. He can submit a 16-team no-trade list, though.

Moving those two players would give Tampa Bay just over $1 million in cap space. And again, that's with conservative RFA contracts and only 18 skaters. To create a bit more wiggle room, the team could trade Cedric Paquette. Even with a modest $1.65-million AAV, he's a luxury the Lightning may not be able to afford for their fourth line. Perhaps BriseBois could ship out veterans Braydon Coburn ($1.7 million) and Curtis McElhinney ($1.3 million) in the final year of their deals, though there may not be many takers.

In addition to potentially losing Johnson, Killorn, Paquette, Coburn, and McElhinney, it will also be extremely difficult for the Bolts to re-sign key pending UFAs Kevin Shattenkirk and Zach Bogosian. Tampa will likely have to fill out the roster using organizational depth or bargain free agents.

Bottom line: If the Lightning can't shed some serious salary before free agency begins, there's a real opportunity for teams to poach Cirelli, Sergachev, and Cernak from the reigning champs. No pressure, BriseBois.

(Cap source: CapFriendly)

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One month after Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney gave Tuukka Rask a vote of confidence, the goaltender says he doesn't expect to be traded and wouldn't want to play elsewhere.

“I think Sweeney came out and said that’s not going to happen,” Rask told the Boston Herald's Steve Conroy. “I don’t want to play for anybody else but the Bruins.”

Sweeney said in September that he had "zero reservations about where Tuukka will be both on and off the ice for us," whenever the 2020-21 season begins.

Rask doesn't believe trading him is necessary.

“I don’t see any reason for that,” he said. “I’ve been here for a long time and the organization’s been so great for me. We’ve built our home in Boston and we call this home."

"... I think where my head’s at is focusing on next year and then hopefully a couple of more years after that and then pass the torch for the next guy after that. I want to help the organization as much as I can,” the veteran continued.

The 33-year-old has played his entire 13-year career with Boston, establishing himself as one of the league's premier goalies in the process. Rask is entering the final campaign of the eight-year extension he inked in 2013, which carries a $7-million cap hit.

Bruins backup Jaroslav Halak is also signed through 2020-21 at a cap hit of $2.25 million. Both goalies would be unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their deals.

Rask opted out of the NHL's return to play in August, citing the need to be with his family. Bruins president Cam Neely later revealed the netminder left the bubble to deal with a family emergency.

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The Anaheim Ducks traded rugged rearguard Erik Gudbranson to the Ottawa Senators for a 2021 5th-round pick, the Sens announced Thursday.

The Ottawa, Ontario native has now been dealt three times in the last year and a half. In February 2019 the Vancouver Canucks traded Gudbranson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tanner Pearson, and the Pens shipped the 28-year-old to Anaheim for Andreas Martinsen and a seventh-round pick in October 2019.

The 6-foot-5 blue-liner tallied nine points in 51 games this past season with 89 hits and 95 penalty minutes.

"Erik Gudbranson provides another sizable presence to our defense corps," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "He's a reliable veteran who plays an intimidating style of game and someone who will add a combination of grit, energy, and most importantly, leadership to our lineup."

Gudbranson carries a $4-million cap hit next season before he becomes a free agent in 2021. The deal creates precious cap room for the Ducks and will help the Senators reach the cap floor.

The Florida Panthers drafted Gubranson third overall in 2010.

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