Truth & Rumors > NHL

02:55 PM ET 05.23 | The Columbus Blue Jackets and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky are no closer to a contract extension, according to general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. Kekalainen confirms the two sides haven't made any progress as of late. However, the general manager made it clear the team plans on working out a deal with the Vezina Finalist. While he doesn't think it will get to this point, Kekalainen stated that the club will match any potential offer sheet that Bobrovsky might receive. Of course, he would have to get to July 5 without a new contract from the Blue jackets to field such offers. It doesn't sound as though the Blue Jackets plan to have that happen.

Columbus Dispatch

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02:49 PM ET 05.23 | In light of the Ottawa Senators disappointing performance in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinal on Thursday night, questions have begun picking up about the future of captain Daniel Alfredsson. Obviously, Alfredsson is nearing the end of his career. With the end of every Senators' season, comes the potential that Alfredsson will have played his last game. After he admitted it was unlikely the team would rebound from the 3-1 series hole they face, media members began questioning whether Game 4 might have been his final game at Scotiabank Place. Alfredsson down played the situation, as any player would. However, it's clear these questions will only continue to pick up once the Senators close out the year.

Sportsnet

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07:21 AM ET 05.23 | Perhaps, after more than 1,100 games in the NHL, Daniel Alfredsson has earned the right to play the realist. [Alfredsson] says the Ottawa Senators probably won't come back against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those words, after a 7-3 Game 4 loss on Wednesday put Alfredsson's team down 3-1 in the series, might be a strict motivational ploy. But if the Sens played their last home game of the season, and Alfredsson the last home came of his career, he didn't seem to take any chances. ... The quote Twitter seized on after the game came when he was asked if the Sens could come back from the deficit: "Probably not. They have too much depth," he said, according to Erin Nicks of NHL.com. ... "We don't have much going for us right now. Maybe that's the way we like it."

Sporting News

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07:19 AM ET 05.23 | In Reporter 101, one learns that when a player says, "I don't know if I should say it," you make sure to pay attention. So when TJ Galiardi prefaced his response to a question about Jonathan Quick with those words, we all became more focused. With good reason. Galiardi dropped the E-word -- embellishment -- on the Los Angeles Kings goalie. "What kind of bugs me about him, I don't know if I should say it, but a little embellishment every now and then," Galiardi said. "You skate by and you don't even touch him or you barely even touch him and he's throwing his hands in the air. So that's one of those things. It's playoffs. Everyone's trying to draw a penalty. Whatever." ... "You guys see it," Galiardi said.

Mercury News

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07:17 AM ET 05.23 | The Red Wings are rolling these days, of course, and they're doing it without Darren Helm in the lineup. Helm was expected to be the Red Wings' third-line center before injuring his back in the weight room just before training camp began in January this lockout-shortened season. No one could have guessed then that the injury would limit him to just one game this season. ... The plan now is for Helm to stay off the ice indefinitely. "Something happened (skating during the Anaheim series) and it hurt a lot and I was limping around for a couple of days," Helm said. "We decided to take a step back and we needed a different approach -- staying off the ice a lot longer. Helm said "absolutely" it was a setback in his recovery. "It wasn't a step forward, that's for sure."

The Detroit News

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