Rumor mill: Brad Marchand and the Stars are the ones to watch

Marchand, who is performing well in the playoffs, could replace Robertson on the ice and in the pack. He could also bring leadership and play for a team aiming for the Stanley Cup in the short term.

And if his goal is to make money, working in Texas is a good way to keep some in his pocket. You might say that in Florida too, but we’ll see what happens in due course.

Among the other files to keep an eye on, you know as well as I do that Mitch Marner’s will get a lot of attention.

He will, after all, be the most coveted free agent on the market this summer. He could even command $14 million per season should the stars align for him.

But it could be a long time (not as long as in baseball, though) before we know which city he’ll be flying to with his family for the rest of his career. After all, he’ll take his time.

Could he take two weeks to make up his mind once July 1 arrives, as Darren Dreger pointed out? If so, it could stall the market for a while.

Speaking of which, there’s one club I refuse to take out of the running too quickly: the Tampa Bay Lightning. The club wants to do big things this summer to take advantage of the window of opportunity for existing players.

And I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see Julien BriseBois get his nose in the game. We know he’ll be on JJ Peterka’s, but I’m keen to keep an eye on Marner and Florida.

overtime

– Speak of the devil.

– Unbelievable.

– People love Paul Maurice.

– Ouch.