- Craig Custance of ESPN: There was some trade talk surrounding the Hurricanes No. 5 pick leading up to the draft, but when they were on the clock and Noah Hanifin was available, there weren’t many calls for the pick. That may have been because teams knew they wouldn’t move the pick if Hanifin was there.
“For us, we had a plan and we stuck to it,” Vellucci said. “If he was there, we were definitely not considering moving him. We knew that when he was there, we were keeping him. That was the guy.”
Hurricanes assistant GM Mike Vellucci on the Maple Leafs 2015 draft.
“They went skill heavy, they didn’t care about size. That’s the way Hunts drafts,” said Vellucci.
A source on the Maple Leafs trading down to acquire more picks.
“Their whole draft strategy was purely quantitative in nature,” said an NHL source. “I don’t know if it’s a trend or more transparency or more quantitative data that shows for sure that it’s a sound strategy. It’s something we talked about in our organization.”
- Glenn Campbell: Devin Setoguchi went to rehab and has been sober for five months. He is close to signing with the Leafs.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: (mailbag) Things have been quiet on the Bruins front. There is no word on UFA defensemen Cody Franson or Marek Zidlicky, or any trade rumors involving Dustin Byfuglien. The Bruins don’t have to rush on any of the UFA defensemen as they are not close to signing somewhere, and the Bruins may eventually be able to sign one to a team friendly contract.Haggerty thinks they will look at their young defensemen in training camp (Colin Miller, Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow) before they go the free agent route. Franson might have to settle for a one- or two-year deal worth around $4.5 million per season.Potential Bruins lines:First line: Beleskey-Krejci-Pastrnak
Second line:Marchand-Bergeron-Connolly
Third line: Eriksson-Spooner-Hayes
Fourth line: Talbot-Kelly-Rinaldo
- Aaron McMann of MLive: Red Wings prospect Vili Saarijarvi is expected to be signing with Flint of the OHL today according to a source. The Wings drafted Saarijarvi in the third round this year.
- J.J. Regan of CSN Washington: Projecting potential Capitals forward lines:First line: Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Second line: Marcus Johansson – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Justin Williams
Third line: Stanislav Galiev – Andre Burakovsky – Tom Wilson
Fourth line: Jason Chimera – Jay Beagle – Brooks Laich
Scratches: Michael Latta, Zach Sill
