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The news is a bit surprising considering all indications were pointing towards both Daniel Briere and Bryz being bought out. The Flyers followed through with their decision on Briere, but apparently are leaning towards keeping their much-maligned goaltender. However, there is some reason to be skeptical, as Holmgren also assured Jeff Carter's agent back in 2011 that he wouldn't be traded, only to find Carter on a plane to L.A. a week later. Moreover, with news today that the Flyers are targeting Jonathan Bernier in a trade, Bryz's future in Philly is still up in the air.

"If we do pick first, we're leaning more toward one of those three forwards," Sakic said. ""We feel those three forwards are just too good to pass up." This comes as a huge shock, as most had pegged Jones to the Avs with the top selection for a number of reasons, including his prior relationship with Sakic and the Avs organization. Whether Sakic is setting up a smokescreen is unclear, but if the Avs do decide to pass on Jones, they will select either Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, or Alexander Barkov, with MacKinnon the likely pick despite already holding a surplus of talent at the center position.

Couture and the Sharks announced the agreement early Tuesday morning. The contract, which starts with the 2014-15 season, can't be officially signed until free agency opens July 5. It's a well-deserved raise for the 24-year-old Couture, who scored 21 goals and 37 points in 48 regular-season games and then added five goals and 11 points in 11 postseason contests.

According to Datsyuk's agent, Gary Greenstein, the deal is worth $22.5 million and the annual average cap hit will be $7.5 million. Datsyuk will get $10 million in 2014-15, $7.5 million in 2015-16 and $5.5 million in 2016-17. The agreement follows a report from FOX Sports Detroit on Monday night that the two sides were close to a deal pending a meeting between Greenstein and GM Ken Holland on Tuesday. The contract will carry Datsyuk until he is nearly 39 years old and essentially means Datsyuk will retire as a Red Wing.

The Kings drafted Bernier in the first round in 2006 with the intention of making him their franchise goalie, but the development of Jonathan Quick has made Bernier, a pending RFA, expendable. The Flyers have been linked to Bernier before and are currently in the midst of another goalie crisis. As of now, the team plans to have Ilya Bryzgalov and Steve Mason battle for the job, but Bryzgalov appears destined for a buyout. In that scenario, acquiring Bernier and having him battle Mason would make a lot of sense. The Kings have reportedly mentioned young forwards Sean Couturier and Matt Read in talks with the Flyers, which could be a hefty price for Philly to pay.

The Kings did not release financial terms, but multiple media outlets reported it is worth $25 million. Voynov was scheduled to be a restricted free agent on July 5 but eschewed the open market and an offer from his hometown team in the KHL to re-up long term with the Kings. The $4.17 million annual salary probably didn't hurt, either. Voynov became a rising star this year amid multiple injuries to the Kings' blueline and stands to be a top-20 defenseman in all formats next season.

Miller and Vanek are the face of the Sabres, yet both appear likely to be traded this offseason as the Sabres try to reboot their franchise. The man in charge of that reboot, GM Darcy Regier, got a full vote of confidence from Pegula, but his concern about what will happen to Miller and Vanek likely means that vote of confidence comes with an asterisk. The problem for Regier is Buffalo has a very difficult time landing free agents without overpaying, but high-salaried deals for players like Ville Leino are part of the reason the Sabres are in this situation in the first place. Truth be told, there's no easy way out of this for Regier, Pegula or the Sabres.