In today';s rumor rundown the Anaheim Ducks and Brandon Montour have come to
the consensus a long-term deal is out. As a result, the two sides are working
on a bridge deal. There is some speculation an Eastern Conference team may have
 interest in Artemi Panarin and Chicago learns a little more about the status
of their No. 1 goaltender. Finally, how will the Devils improve their roster
without big trades or signing on the horizon?Montour and Anaheim Working on
Bridge Deal

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported early Sunday morning that the
Anaheim Ducks and defenseman Brandon Montour have exchanged arbitration
briefs. The Ducks have filed at $1.5MM per year for two years while Montour has
 filed at $4.75MM for one season. Friedman points out that the team is the side
 who submits the length of the term in arbitration but Montour is hoping for
the shorter of the two.Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour (Stan Szeto-USA
 TODAY Sports)

Eric Stephens reports Ducks GM Bob Murray said he's working on a two-year
bridge contract ahead of Tuesday's salary arbitration hearing in Toronto and
that any talks the two sides had about a longer term were unsuccessful. Both
sides want to avoid arbitration but for Montour, it would financially
beneficial to get a deal done prior to Tuesday';s hearing. An offensive
defenseman, Montour went 50 games without a goal last season and that';s sure
to come up in the hearings.

Not that an arbitration award would come in at the salary either side suggested
 but it will be hard arguing Montour is worth the full $4.75 given his limited
games played in the league.Related: NHL Rumors: Karlsson, Panarin, Maroon,
MoreBruins Interested in Panarin?

Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe is wondering if the Boston Bruins would
be a good fit for Artemi Panarin. He suggests the Blue Jackets have to realize
by now a trade is inevitable and that a larger market is probably where he
wants to go. Boston isn';t the biggest market in the NHL but it does fit better
 than Columbus in that regard.

If Panarin is looking for something in the range of $9.5 million, the Bruins
have the room to fit him in at that price and could put him beside David
Krejci.Artemi Panarin has been a big free agent signing for the Blackhawks.
(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Dupont suggests it';s all about when Panarin is moved that will determine the
assets required to acquire him. If at the trade deadline, it would likely be
a player, pick, and prospect. If now, and with the ability of the Bruins to
negotiate an extension, the return would have to be greater and could cost the
team something like Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo.

At best, this is a suggestion or attempt to throw things at the wall to see if
they stick. There has been no actual talk from either party nor NHL insiders
that the Bruins and Blue Jackets are actually talking about a
deal.Related: NHL Rumors: Seguin, Hughes, Pacioretty, MoreStatus of Corey
Crawford

Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Chicago Blackhawks have
spoken to Corey Crawford about the status of his health. Crawford missed a big
chunk of last season due to a hear injury and the Blackhawks signed Cam Ward to
 be a first-string netminder if Crawford';s return is delayed. The club should
know more in a few weeks.

"I ran into him [Monday] and talked to him for a while," general manager Stan
Bowman said earlier this week. Bowman added things are looking good but
Crawford hadn';t done much on-ice training. It appears there isn';t really much
 to suggest Crawford will be back right away but that his off-ice training
hasn';t seen any snags and the player and the club will take things
slowly.Shero to Offer a Few Tryouts?

Chris Ryan of NJ.com believes Devils GM Ray Shero will still find a way to
improve his roster before the start of this coming season. But, since he struck
 out on some of his free agent pursuits, he may need to get creative. Ryan
suggested Shero could get involved as a third-party in a possible Erik Karlsson
 trade or pursue a trade with the Minnesota Wild if the team is looking to move
 either Jason Zucker or Nino Niederreiter. He even threw the idea of trading
for Montreal's Max Pacioretty or Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel.Dan Hamhuis #2,
Dallas Stars (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Athletic';s Corey Masisak recently suggested something that makes a bit
more sense. That is, offering professional tryout offers to free agent forwards
 such as Lee Stempniak, Drew Stafford, Jason Chimera, Jannik Hansen or Joel
Ward, or defenseman like Paul Martin, Dan Hamhuis or Brooks Orpik. When asked
about the optics of tryouts, Masiask noted Shero';s response:

"I think we'll have to wait and see. I've talked to a few players, but I don't
think we're there yet. There's got to be an opportunity there for the player. I
 think we have six exhibition games, so we've got to make sure there's an
opportunity to get them some games. That's not a way to treat people to [sign
them to a PTO and] only play them in one game and there's not a spot. We'll
have to evaluate that and so will the players."source - "Targeting a list of
potential PTO contract options if the Devils choose to go that route" - Corey
Masisak - The Athletic - 07/17/2018

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