from Rory Boylen of Sportsnet,

It would be a shock to see either New Jersey or the Rangers trade the first- and second-overall selections. In some order, Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko will go to those teams and then the feeling is the draft really starts at three. At that point, it’s unclear who the best prospect is, whether it’s defenceman Bowen Byram, centre Alex Turcotte, or some other wild card (perhaps Vasily Podkolzin who has two years left on his KHL contract). But also, the Blackhawks appear willing to move the pick.

“I think there’s a lot of teams willing to move around,” Friedman said. “That’s the No. 1 thing I’m hearing… There’s a lot of talk at the combine of teams willing to move around. Down, up all over the place.

“Depending on what (the Blackhawks) do, teams are telling me there’s a lot of talk about movement because obviously teams are going to value some of these guys very differently.”

The Colorado Avalanche hold two first-round picks — Ottawa’s at No. 4 overall, and their own at 16. The general belief is they’ll use No. 4 to add a high-end prospect, but that it’s entirely possible the 16th overall could be in play to add something to the roster, likely to their forward unit which lacks scoring depth. GM Joe Sakic has already said this off-season that he plans on acting aggressively.

And how about the Philadelphia Flyers? The 31 Thoughts Podcast discussed that ownership was lacking patience and was itching for this team to get back into the playoffs. That was part of the reason Ron Hextall was fired as GM during the season, while new GM Chuck Fletcher had to settle the trade speculation upon his arrival. Now in the summer, all bets are off, and local beat reporters are suggesting the 11th-overall pick could be in play.

much more talk as the draft and UFA season approaches...