from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

- Trade talk involving Fowler seems to have died down after the draft. I think it's because had he moved, it would have involved Anaheim getting a top-10 pick back as part of the package, whether that was No. 8 from the Buffalo Sabres or No. 9 from the Montreal Canadiens, perhaps.

Either way, there's no telling for sure whether Fowler moves or not this summer but I think the Ducks -- loaded with talent on the back end -- are ready to start the season with him in their lineup unless somebody really steps up and makes a quality offer. They're not giving this guy away.

- You don't hear much about Dan Hamhuis as the UFA bidding gets set to open Friday but in a depleted blue-line market, he probably deserves more notice. And maybe it's because teams are wary that he struggled to decide on potential trades to the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks before the trade deadline and stayed put with the Vancouver Canucks. But my sense now is that he’s ready to leave his native British Columbia, the Canucks having not re-signed him, and the idea of finding a good role on a good team appealing to the 33-year-old defenseman.

- Defenseman Tyson Barrie remains an unsigned RFA as Friday approaches. The Colorado Avalanche made his camp a new contract offer at the draft in Buffalo last week. Nobody is saying either way but I don’t get the sense it was seen as good enough. He’s eligible for arbitration. The Avs would rather not trade him, GM Joe Sakic has said. Going to be interesting to see where this heads. Still lots of time to work out a new contract, though.

more on Fowler plus Eric Staal...