The Edmonton Oilers are among the teams that have inquired about the availability of Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny, reports Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal. It was expected that Edmonton will shop around to try to find a forward upgrade this summer, but fitting in Konecny’s contract – one that has two years left on it at $5.5M – would be tricky given their own cap situation. The 26-year-old Konecny tied his career high in points this season with 61 despite missing 22 games down the stretch due to an upper-body injury. With Philadelphia appearing to be heading for a rebuild, it stands to reason that GM Daniel Briere will be fielding plenty of calls about his leading scorer in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggests that Buffalo Sabres center Tyson Jost’s arbitration eligibility could be problematic for the franchise this offseason. The 25-year-old was claimed off waivers back in November and is owed a $2.25M qualifying offer. However, Seravalli points out that Jost’s career numbers are similar to Andrew Copp’s from two years ago – and the former Winnipeg forward was awarded a $3.64M AAV in a hearing. Such a price tag for Jost would be difficult to justify, making him a decent non-tender candidate if a deal can’t be reached before the deadline at the end of the month.
- MLive’s Ansar Khan examines some coaching candidates for Detroit’s AHL vacancy. ECHL Toledo head coach Dan Watson has been considered a logical choice for a while, but Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde has indicated that Watson’s family situation is a strong tie for him to stay at that level. Red Wings assistant Alex Tanguay has never run a bench before, so the opening could be an opportunity for him to get his feet wet in that role. Khan suggests that another Detroit assistant, Jay Varady, could also be a strong candidate. He has a past head-coaching background at the lower levels. The top position with Grand Rapids has been open for nearly two months, now.
More must-reads: