LeBrun rumblings: Why hasn’t Filip Forsberg re-signed with Nashville yet? Claude Giroux to Edmonton?

When you talk to most people around the league, it’s always been the expectation that Filip Forsberg would ultimately re-sign in Nashville. He still very well might, but I think a lot of people are surprised that negotiation hasn’t produced an extension yet.

My sense is both sides aren’t that far apart, they’re both willing to do an eight-year extension at an AAV that begins with an eight. Forsberg’s camp, led by veteran agent J.P. Barry, is believed to want a dollar figure in the high eights while veteran GM David Poile is in the low eights.

Still, is this thing really going to blow up over about half a million a year?

It feels like both sides have dug in with their latest positions. Forsberg, who turns 28 in August, is coming off a six-year deal which paid him $6 million AAV.

I would have bet heavily a month ago that this would have been done by now. It’s rather interesting that it hasn’t concluded yet and other GMs and agents have taken notice. Because if suddenly Forsberg is on the market, and perhaps Johnny Gaudreau goes to market as well if he doesn’t sign Calgary’s eight-year offer, we’ve got quite the 1-2 punch at the top of the free-agent frenzy.

In the end, and maybe it’s because I still have a hard time seeing Forsberg leave Nashville, the only place he’s ever played where players love living, I think it gets done.

But it sure doesn’t feel like a sure thing as of Monday morning.

Claude Giroux to the Oilers?

As the week begins here, there remained still mutual interest between the Florida Panthers and Claude Giroux to figure something out but July 13 is fast approaching.

The Panthers are somewhat hamstrung by the cap and whether or not they can find a deal that works for both sides to keep Giroux in South Florida is not guaranteed.

There are clubs lurking, hoping to have a chance at Giroux, 34, come July 13.

One of those teams, I’m told, is the Edmonton Oilers. In the event that the Oilers can’t re-sign Evander Kane, I was told over the weekend that the Oilers have internally discussed the merits of trying to sign Giroux. He has played primarily wing the last few years, but also remains a top faceoff guy and still obviously impactful offensively.

Giroux playing either with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl has plenty of appeal.

I think one of the key elements regardless of where Giroux ends up is signing more than a one-year deal. He’s got two young boys and I don’t think the veteran player and his wife want to keep moving around year to year. Teams that step up with a two- or even three-year deal will have a better shot. But so will teams with a shot at winning. Which the Oilers represent after a trip to the Western Conference Final.

Obviously, another team to watch would be the Senators, Giroux and his family spend their summers in Ottawa. I just think the allure of wanting to win a Cup ASAP would be the sticking point on that one even though it’s a young and talented team that’s on the rise. But maybe the Sens’ pitch, if Ottawa decides to dive in on Giroux, wins him over.

Flower power

Veteran agent Allan Walsh was set to meet with client Marc-André Fleury and his wife Monday at their Montreal area offseason home to discuss the offseason game plan further.

The Wild remain interested in trying to bring the 37-year-old back. But obviously, there will be interest from other contenders.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto was one of those teams. Fleury in the end was willing to go to Toronto at the trade deadline in March and we know the Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs were cooking up a deal that fell apart at the time. Which paved the way for the Wild to swoop in and get him on deadline day.

But I do think Fleury would be open to the Leafs among other contenders.

Will be interesting to see how Walsh and Fleury navigate July 13 if they don’t re-sign with Minnesota. As noted before, there are really just four notable UFA goalies this year in Fleury, Jack Campbell, Ville Husso and Darcy Kuemper and probably about 10 teams who need goalie upgrades.

Fleury will be able to be picky with his decision. Hard not to think that Colorado wouldn’t be a nice fit if for whatever reasons the Cup champs are unable to re-sign Kuemper. As of Monday morning, the Avs hadn’t yet made a formal contract offer to Kuemper but the club has communicated a desire to try to keep him. So we’ll see where that goes.

Malkin and Letang

Still, no breakthrough on the Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang contract fronts as of Monday morning although my sense is there has been some movement from all sides.

The Penguins’ original position, I believe, was a two-year extension for each player, and both balked at that. I believe the club has moved on term to three years for each. But the AAV also matters and I don’t have a good read on where that is in each case.

The two players are represented by different agents so it’s not like they’re in lockstep on what they ultimately want but I’m guessing both would prefer a four-year extension at least if the AAV is going to be club-friendly.

GM Ron Hextall was hired to shepherd this roster into a transition while still wanting to be competitive. These two negotiations loom large over that process.

I think in the end Letang gets done, he stays put in Pittsburgh, I don’t have as good a read on the Malkin path right now.

Ilya Mikheyev

My understanding of the Ilya Mikheyev game plan is that if he does hit the open market July 13, his agent Dan Milstein will be looking for a multi-year deal in the $4.75 million AAV to $5.5 million AAV range.

I tweeted as much Monday morning and Leafs fans were rather incredulous that was even possible. And I get it, it does seem higher than the $4 million or so I had pegged for Mikheyev. But funny things happen in the UFA market with desperate teams. Just because Milstein is aiming for that ballpark, doesn’t necessarily mean he will get it. But I think there’s pretty solid interest in the 21-goal man.

Speaking of Milstein, as first reported by my TSN colleague Darren Dreger on Monday, he now represents Russian blueliner Mikhail Sergachev of the Lightning. I’m told Sergachev, who has another year left on his current deal at $4.8 million (then RFA), reached out to Milstein a day after the Cup final ended asking if he would do take him on.

Evander Kane

As of Monday, there was still no second grievance hearing set for Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks and according to sources, highly doubtful it would happen before the free-agent market opens July 13.

This is far from ideal for Kane or the Sharks given the uncertainty of what that second grievance hearing could produce as a result. Does he go back on the Sharks books? Does he remain a free agent? So many unanswered questions. Do other NHL teams try to sign Kane on July 13 not knowing the result of that hearing?

All of which makes me wonder whether there’s any motivation for both sides, the Sharks and Kane’s camp, to perhaps entertain having some discussions on a settlement. But I don’t know at this point if that’s a realistic option or not.

(Top photo: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY)