2:50 p.m.: The Montreal Canadiens are trying to make a splash, and we’ll now wait to see whether the Carolina Hurricanes are willing to match.
1:50 p.m.: The New Jersey Devils are continuing their rebuild by adding a familiar face in former Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds.
1:05 p.m.: The two biggest moves of the NHL offseason thus far — Sergei Bobrovsky to Florida and Artemi Panarin to the Rangers — now are completed and official.
12:56 p.m.: Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said his team would be adding when free agency began, and big winger Brett Ritchie is coming to Boston, according to reports.
12:53 p.m.: The Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t going away completely empty-handed.
12:40 p.m.: Valtteri Filppula is heading (back) to the Red Wings.
12:19 p.m.: Artemi Panarin is about to get paid, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks.
12:18 p.m.: The Toronto Maple Leafs get another veteran forward.
12:15 p.m.: Mats Zuccarello is heading to Minnesota.
12:10 p.m.: Looks like Corey Perry will get a chance to rebuild his value in Dallas and hit the market again next summer.
12:05 p.m.: The NHL league year is open, and it sounds as if the San Jose Sharks are nearing an agreement with Timo Meier, an important RFA coming off a 30-goal season.
11:51 a.m.: Meanwhile, the Bruins are locking up one of their young defensemen.
11:46 a.m.: It appears the Rangers are swooping in and are poised to land Artemi Panarin despite recent reports indicating he’d likely end up with the Islanders.
11:45 a.m.: Noel Acciari is staying in the Atlantic Division, with the Providence College product reportedly leaving the Bruins to join the Florida Panthers.
11:11 a.m.: The Atlantic Division is loading up.
11:09 a.m.: The Florida Panthers, believed by many to be the front-runner for Sergei Bobrovsky, also are in the process of beefing up the blue line, it seems.
11:05 a.m.: Bob McKenzie on TSN just said the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes still are ongoing. There was reported momentum building between Panarin and the New York Islanders, but according to McKenzie, the Rangers also are lingering. McKenzie also noted the Columbus Blue Jackets made an offer Sunday night but weren’t able to get anything done.
Other highlights from McKenzie:
— Matt Duchene and the Nashville Predators have an agreement in place
— Tyler Myers is going to Vancouver
— Joe Pavelski will join the Dallas Stars
Got it? Good.
10:51 a.m.: More on the Sebastian Aho front:
10:20 a.m.: Sebastian Aho might be poised for a huge payday.
8:20 a.m.: The Leafs and Senators make it official:
8:15 a.m.: With the new league year beginning, we also should see some movement via trade, and two longtime rivals — the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs — reportedly have struck a deal centered around Toronto defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and winger Connor Brown.
Between Zaitsev and Connor Brown, that’s nearly $7 million in salary cap space going out for Toronto, which they need if they’re going to sign Mitch Marner to a new contract.
8:05 a.m.: Mitch Marner also figures to be one of the focal points as the NHL year begins. While he’s not an unrestricted free agent, the star winger’s restricted free agency is an enormous focus for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Here’s the latest on Marner’s situation from TSN’s Darren Dreger and whether another team might strike with an offer sheet for Marner — or other RFAs across the league.
7:45 a.m. ET: The NBA had its fun Sunday night, and now it’s time for the NHL landscape to change.
NHL free agency technically begins at noon ET on Monday with a handful of stars poised to change teams. Perhaps no team will be affected more than the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are expected to lose a pair of impact players in forward Artemi Panarin and All-Star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Two-way center Matt Duchene also is among the big names who could be on the move, and teams looking for goaltending help could make Robin Lehner a very rich man. After that initial wave of top-level talent, there’s plenty of secondary depth pieces who could put contenders over the top.
We’ll be following all of the news and rumors throughout the day, so be sure to keep checking back for all the latest across the NHL.
