Each day leading up to free agency on July 1, TSN.ca breaks down the latest news and rumours around the NHL.

--

Not done yet

Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee has been the busiest man in the league the last week. But he may not be done yet, with a couple of trades still expected to be made by the expansion team this weekend.

“At some point McPhee is probably going to flip Marc Methot and certainly Alexei Emelin,” LeBrun reports. “That’s part of his focus here once he’s done with the draft picks. He said the other day that he had to get through that first round, he had three first round picks, and then get back to flipping a couple more defencemen.”

Methot, taken from the Ottawa Senators in the Expansion Draft, could be a tricky move because of his no-trade clause.

“One of the problems he’s got now is Methot is very much in demand, but it’s by a lot of teams in Canada,” TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reports. “And Methot has a no-trade list that includes most of the teams in Canada, and right now he’s not prepared to waive.”

Still, LeBrun said McPhee is motivated to make some sort of trade work for the veteran defenceman.

“He doesn’t want to be stuck with too many players for too long because obviously, everyone knows he has to get rid of them, so time is of the essence.”

The 32-year-old Methot finished with 12 assists in 68 games for the Senators last season. Methot has two years and $9.8 million left on his contract.

Emelin meanwhile, has one year at $4.1 million left on his contract. The 31-year-old finished with two goals and eight assists in 76 games for the Montreal Canadiens last season.

--

Staying Put in Colorado?

Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene has been one of the most talked about trade targets all off-season. But the wait for a potential trade continued through the first round of the NHL Draft, and could continue longer still.

According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic hasn’t yet received a desirable enough package to ship away Duchene.

“Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche obviously places a high value on Matt Duchene and it’s believed that he needs a real good defenceman as part of a trade package,” Dreger said. “And that hasn’t materialized just yet.”

Dreger said Duchene’s agent, Pat Brisson, was seen talking with both Sakic and Nashville Predators GM David Poile on the Draft floor Friday night. The Predators are known to have interest in Duchene, but aren’t willing to part with a defenceman to make the deal happen.

“We know that Nashville would absolutely have keen interest in Duchene to replace James Neal who was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights,” said Dreger. “The problem is the Predators don’t want to give up a defenceman.”

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun brought up the possibility of bringing in a third team to facilitate a trade for Duchene.

“t may just be that you have to get a third team involved,” LeBrun said. “If it’s a defenceman that has to go, maybe Nashville has to go get a defenceman somehow.”

But LeBrun reiterated, the Avalanche aren’t at the moment close to a deal to send Duchene away.

I spoke with Sakic near the end of the first round and he made it clear he’s got nothing in front of him that he believes is even remotely interesting to him on the Duchene front. And he says, ‘hey, if we have to keep Duchene so be it, he’s a good hockey player. We’re not giving this guy away.’

The 26-year-old Duchene, who had 18 goals and 23 assists in 77 games for the Avs last year, has two years and $12 million left on his contract.

--

Goalie watch

The Winnipeg Jets could be adding some help in net this week.

According to TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli, Jets GM Kevin Chevaldayoff said he will take a good look at options in net leading up to free agency.

The Jets have Michael Hutchison under contract for next year and Connor Hellebuyck is a restricted free agent.

--

Working on it

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman is working towards signing restricted free agents Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, according to TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli.

"I can't tell you whether that will be today or next week," Yzerman told Seravalli, but he is working towards getting both deals done.

Johnson, 26, had 19 goals and 26 assists in 66 games for the Lightning last season. Palat, also 26, had 17 goals and 35 assists in 75 games for Tampa Bay last year.

--

Eye on D

The Boston Bruins are looking to add a a defenceman, and while they missed out on the first wave of available blue liners, they could very well be in the mix in the second wave, according to CSN Bruins Insider Joe Haggerty. 

Haggerty said the Bruins have long been monitoring the Minnesota Wild and how they'll handle their defencemen, and are among the teams interested in Marco Scandella.

"Scandella would be a good potential fit on the left side in a top-four role playing in a pairing with Charlie McAvoy as the B's look for a good, mobile partner that can play at both ends of the ice," Haggerty writes. "Unfortunately for the Bruins, they are clearly not the only team in the running for the Montreal-born Scandella."

The 27-year-old Scandella had four goals and nine assists in 71 games for the Wild. The 2008 second-rounder has three years and $12 million left on his current contract.

Haggerty also mentions Noah Hanifin as a potential fit for the Bruins. Drafted fifth overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015, Hanifin is coming off a four-goal, 25-assist season in Carolina. The 20-year-old has one year left on his entry level deal before becoming a restricted free agent.