from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Hearing several core Maple Leafs have personally pitched Joe Thornton on going to Toronto. The courtship is on and the interest is real. But one thing I’ve always been told about the future Hall of Famer: do not underestimate his loyalty to San Jose.

- The Blue Jackets remain intriguing. They moved money and now we’re all wondering what’s to be done with the space. They wanted Hall. They’ve considered offer sheets in the past, but there’s a belief they are protecting themselves against one to Pierre-Luc Dubois. (There’s such a cash crunch that I’m unconvinced we will see an offer sheet at this time.) Pietrangelo said he was considering one other visit besides Vegas. I’d suspect Colorado, but do wonder if Columbus made a serious pitch. The city is close to St. Louis; there are people in the organization who know him well (Brad Shaw); and the team had a desire to make a big move. Also, David Savard was available, at least for awhile. That appears to have changed, coinciding with Pietrangelo’s Sin City choice.

- Florida is one of the teams that has conversed with Anthony Duclair, but I don’t know where that stands.

- This depends on what happens with the border, but there is talk that Canadian-based NHL teams with U.S.-based AHL affiliates are considering moving them north of the 49th for the 2020–21 season. That’s Calgary/Stockton; Edmonton/Bakersfield; and Vancouver/Utica. It makes sense, because a quarantine period would mean you can’t call up players. Not sure if those teams would be based out of the NHL buildings or centralized, but it is something these three organizations must prepare for.

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