from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

- While the Kings don’t want to move star defenceman Drew Doughty, captain and top centre Anze Kopitar or goalie Jonathan Quick, they’ve been labelled by league executives as a team that’s “open for business.”

The word is Blake is listening on forwards Ilya Kovalchuk, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Carl Hagelin, Nate Thompson, and Kyle Clifford. If that’s enough to talk about, defencemen Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin are also believed to be available.

- Of course, Bobrovksy isn’t the Jackets’ only UFA. The club also has to deal with forward Artemi Panarin. Neither player has shown much inclination to sign with the club, and there is no shortage of talk of where they may end up. You have to wonder if they’re a package deal if Panarin and Bobrovksy may end up in Florida. That rumour is out there. An interesting situation to watch.

- St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong has been trying to make changes, but he’s getting a lot of heat internally. The decision to fire coach Mike Yeo and hire Craig Berube as an interim replacement hasn’t had the desired effect. There is a belief in NHL circles Armstrong is in trouble, and he’ll try to make changes at the deadline.

- A contract negotiation to watch: Restricted free agent forward Mikko Rantanen and the Avalanche. He’s coming out of an entry-level deal and is having another strong season with 20 goals and 48 points going into his team’s game Saturday in Montreal.

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