from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottaw Sun,

Don’t fret, folks, there’s still plenty of players to choose from and lots of money to be spent as the free agent frenzy gets underway at noon Friday.

“I think there’s going to be lots of action,” predicted one NHL insider Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the market was set to open. “It’s going to be busy and lots of guys are going to get lots of money.”...

- There isn’t a lot of happiness after a difficult season in Colorado and it certainly sounds like the Avalanche are trying to make changes. There’s a lot of interest in restricted free agent defenceman Tyson Barrie, but GM Joe Sakic has insisted he isn’t available. A name that surfaced Thursday is centre Gabriel Landeskog, who has a cap hit of $5.571 million through 2020-21. Anything can happen but it would be difficult to believe the Avs would give up on the 23-year-old Landeskog. For that to happen it would require a massive deal.

- There has been plenty of talk about the future of New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen as he prepares to hit the market at noon, but the possibility exists he won’t go anywhere because he should be a priority for GM Garth Snow. Sure, teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals may show interest in Nielsen, but the word is with a lengthy, rich contract offer on the table from the Islanders he might just stay put in the end....

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