Sunday Notes: More Thoughts On Kadri, Girard; Sacco Interviewing with SJS

A good Sunday to all. The dog days of the hockey season are soon to be upon us, though there are still some loose ends to resolve, starting with the Nazem Kadri situation of course. Let’s do some notes in the meantime:

• If the Avalanche are trying to clear cap room to re-sign Kadri, Sam Girard and his $5 million cap hit remains the most logical move to get that done. There are still five years left on Girard’s contract, all with a $5 million hit.
• Girards’ final three years of the deal will see a nine-team no-trade clause kick in. So, if the Avalanche want to trade him, they’d have no restrictions for the next two years.
• Nice to see old friend A.J. Greer sign a new two-year contract with the Boston Bruins (Boston Hockey Now)
• Speaking of old friends, former Avalanche coach Joe Sacco is interviewing for the coaching job in San Jose (Boston Hockey Now)
• Larry Brooks says people should stop questioning how and why Johnny Gaudreau chose to play in Columbus (NY Post)
• If the Avalanche want Kadri back – but are letting other teams clear cap space to steal him away – then they will deserve criticism. Get the thing done now before some other team can lure him away. That’s why I don’t think the Avalanche believe they’re going to lose him and are just trying to go the best deal they can to clear the space. But, yeah, get the thing done if you really want him.
• One reason why the Islanders could still be a possibility for Kadri is because he had a good relationship, I’m told, with Lou Lamoriello from their time in Toronto together.
• The Islanders’ best strength still as a team, though, is their depth at center.
• Eric Staal and brother Marc will try to resurrect their careers with the Panthers (Florida Hockey Now)
• Avalanche will have a redone Ball Arena locker room when they resume training camp.