The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to move longtime forward Tyler Johnson in an effort to weather their salary cap crunch this offseason.
Johnson, 30, has given the Lightning several teams to work with for a potential trade, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Tuesday.
The 5-foot-8 pivot has four years remaining on his current deal, which carries an annual cap hit of $5 million.
The Lightning are one of several teams that have been significantly impacted by the flat salary cap in 2020-21. Tampa Bay has $5.3 million in projected cap space with several key restricted free agents - including forward Anthony Cirelli and defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak - in line for new deals.
Johnson tallied 14 goals and 31 points through 65 games this season and added seven points in 25 playoff contests en route to the Stanley Cup.
He's spent all eight of his NHL seasons with the Lightning after signing with the club as an undrafted free agent in 2011.
Simmonds, 32, signed a one-year, $5-million deal with the New Jersey Devils last offseason and was traded to the Buffalo Sabres at the February deadline. He recorded eight goals and 25 points in 68 games with the two clubs.
Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Monday he's looking to make his club more difficult to play against. The 6-foot-2 Simmonds recorded 145 hits in 2019-20 - a department in which Toronto ranked 29th.
The possible signing would mark a homecoming for Simmonds, who played minor hockey in Scarborough, Ontario.
Dubas has already begun shoring up his forward depth, signing each of Denis Malgin and Jason Spezza to a one-year, $700,000 deal.
Lafreniere has been the consensus top pick dating back to 2019, and for good reason.
The Rimouski Oceanic captain is the two-time defending CHL Player of the Year and the first player since Sidney Crosby to claim the honor in back-to-back seasons. As such, Lafreniere is widely projected to be the NHL's next generational talent.
Lafreniere is expected to play in the NHL immediately and appears more than ready, having excelled not just in the QMJHL but also under the increased pressure of international play.
Quinton Byfield - Center, Sudbury (OHL)
Byfield is a gifted player. He possesses tremendous size and reach, yet he moves around the ice with extreme ease. His incredibly soft hands and elite puck-protection skills allow him to generate scoring chances at will, and a heavy shot sees him finish at a high rate. He's also blessed with great playmaking ability.
Despite his size, Byfield's not overly physical defensively, but he makes up for it with a strong, active stick and impressive anticipation. He sometimes becomes disengaged on both sides of the ice, however, specifically on defense. He also tends to cheat for offensive chances instead of staying behind the puck.
Tim Stuetzle - Center, Mannheim (DEL)
A natural center, Stuetzle spent the majority of the season on the wing. But many pundits believe he'll be able to hold his own down the middle of the ice in the NHL - largely due to his elite skating and hockey sense.
Stuetzle has high-end skill and great hands, but what makes him truly special is his ability to seemingly have the puck on a string at top speed. Not many players can do that, and it allows him to embarrass defenders in one-on-one situations. He also has great vision and ran Mannheim's power play from the left half wall as a left-handed shooter. He can circle the neutral zone and enter the offensive zone with speed just as he receives a pass, making him very dangerous on the man advantage despite his current lack of a truly dangerous one-timer.
Cole Perfetti - Left Wing, Saginaw (OHL)
Perfetti burst onto the OHL scene as a 16-year-old in 2018, scoring the most goals by a player his age since John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, and Taylor Hall - pretty good company. He followed up his incredible rookie season with another fantastic year in 2019-20, finishing second in the league in both points and assists.
Now 18, Perfetti is one of the best playmakers in the draft. His body and physicality are nothing to write home about, but neither is an issue thanks to his immense skill and vision on and off the puck. Perfetti makes magic happen everywhere on the ice, and he's proven he can both score and pass at elite levels.
Jamie Drysdale - Defense, Erie (OHL)
Drysdale is the most highly touted blue-liner in this year's draft. He finished his season ranked third among North American skaters, trailing only Lafreniere and Byfield.
Drysdale doesn't have towering size, but he's a swift-skating, offensively gifted player who should have no issues fitting into the modern NHL. He played at nearly a point-per-game pace in the OHL this season and claimed a gold medal with Canada at the world juniors.
Marco Rossi - Center, Ottawa (OHL)
Rossi led the entire CHL in points and assists in 2019-20, becoming only the second European import to win the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's most outstanding player.
Rossi's breakout campaign wasn't entirely unforeseen, as he ranked second among OHL rookies with 29 goals and 65 points in 2018-19. NHL Central Scouting listed him as the No. 6 North American skater in its final pre-draft rankings.
Kevyn Adams wants to make sure it's understood the Buffalo Sabres aren't interested in dealing Jack Eichel.
"I have zero concern on Jack wanting to be here," the general manager said Monday, according to The Athletic's John Vogl. He added: "There's no intention of moving Jack Eichel. I can make that very clear."
Adams was repeating his Sept. 29 response to a report that multiple teams had checked in on the superstar forward's availability. Despite interest from other clubs, the Sabres weren't interested in trading him then, either.
"People call and make phone calls and ask about players every day," Adams said at the time. "My job is to listen, and we have no intention of shopping Jack Eichel. People call and you have conversations. That's it."
Eichel's agent, Peter Fish, has also said his client doesn't want to leave Buffalo despite Eichel's frustration with the franchise's struggles.
Adams replaced the fired Jason Botterill in June; Eichel said in late May it's been "a tough past five years" with the Sabres.
The dynamic scorer, who turns 24 on Oct. 24, posted a career-high 36 goals to go along with 42 assists in just 68 games in 2019-20.
Eichel signed an eight-year, $80-million extension with the Sabres in October 2017. He's been the club's captain since the start of the 2018-19 season. Buffalo drafted him second overall in 2015.
