Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Pressure Mounting To Sign The RFA's

08/28/2019 at 8:51am EDT

from Tim Campbell of NHL.com,

Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and the Winnipeg Jets figure to soon feel a heightened sense of urgency with each unrestricted free agent forward unsigned and the season approaching, coach Paul Maurice said.

"The pressure on both sides kind of comes at the same time, that the closer you get to the season, the more pressure comes on the team and the player to get a contract signed," coach Paul Maurice told NHL.com in a recent interview. "We'll see that mount and we're hopeful (they'll be signed) by the time the puck drops. You want everybody at camp, absolutely, but you really hope everybody's done by the time the season starts."...

Laine and Connor are among the prominent unsigned restricted free agents. They include forwards Mitchell Marner of the Maple Leafs, Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche, Brayden Point of the Lightning, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks and Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames, and defensemen Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers, Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"The view from the outside might be that there's something wrong because none of these guys are signed," Maurice said. "The truth of the matter is that it must be completely normal because none of these guys are signed.

"When you look at the block of players, not just our two ... that are all in the same boat, you would say we're no more worried than anybody else in this position. If yours were the last two guys who weren't signed, you'd be concerned because there would at least be contracts out there that would tell you where the lamp post is. Everybody wants these contracts done but we all knew this was going to be late, that it wasn't going to happen early because they're almost moving en masse. I think once one or two go, they'll all line up."

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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