Top Line: Latest on Jamie Benn, Ryan O'Reilly talks, more
RFA Jamie Benn and the Stars waited for the new CBA before trying to cut a deal. (Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)
• A new deal for RFA winger Jamie Benn will get done , writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News...but it may take some time. The team's strong start seems to swing leverage in their direction, but Benn's camp feels no pressure to rush into a deal without getting the term (short) and money (large) that he wants. There were rumblings that there was movement last night, but it looks like the Stars will be without their franchise player heading into tonight's game with the Blackhawks.
• Esteemed SI.colleague (and obsessive KISS fan) Adrian Dater has the (very) latest on another RFA, Ryan O'Reilly. The Man Who Never Sleeps learned early this morning that O'Reilly's contract with Metallurg of the KHL has been terminated, which would seem to put him on the fast track to re-signing with the Avs.
• There are bigger names -- and bigger players -- than Tampa Bay's Cory Conacher but the 5'-8" forward has quietly racked up five points in his first three games. Erik Erlendson of the Tampa Tribune tells how another undersized forward (not the one you might think) got him his break with the Bolts.
• That sweet shootout clincher is getting lots of buzz, but the Globe and Mail's Dave Ebner says it's what Zack Kassian did with his 19:14 reign of terror during regulation and OT that showed he's exactly the presence the Canucks needed.
• His name rhymes with tuner, not runner. But pronunciation won't be a problem much longer the way Damien Brunner is rolling in Detroit. John Niyo of the Detroit News notes that the 26-year-old Swiss scoring star is second in the league with 15 shots on net.
• NHL.com called goaltender Eamon McAdam the star of last night's USHL top Prospects Game, but for me the standout was Boston College recruit Ian McCoshen. The big defender from the Waterloo Blackhawks was fast and physical, and looked the part of a low-end first rounder.
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