NHL Rumors: Utah Hockey Club, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Pittsburgh Penguins

Utah is not making progress with one of its RFAs

Craig Morgan: Source said there has been no progress between Utah and RFA defenseman Victor Soderstrom. Newly acquired Igor Sokolov is their other RFA.

The best people in the Columbus Blue Jackets coaching space, and they're not chasing RFAs.

Aaron Portzline of the Athletic: The Columbus Blue Jackets may name their new head coach as early as this week. The leading candidates are believed to be Todd McLellan, Dean Evason and Jay Woodcroft.

Columbus Hopes Sean Monahan Can Rediscover The Magic With Johnny Gaudreau

Kirill Marchenko, Jake Christiansen and Jet Greaves filed for back wages last week. The Blue Jackets were in no rush to sign them but negotiations could begin this week.

Aaron Portzline: Joel Quenneville is not a candidate for the Blue Jackets.

Sidney Crosby's extension could be coming soon

Rob Rossi of The Athletic: Team and league sources say Sidney Crosby's contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins could be done soon.

GM Kyle Dubas and agent Pat Brisson have done a good job of keeping things quiet.

Crosby turns 37 in August and has said he wants to be a Penguin for the rest of his life. Back in April, it was reported that they might be looking at a three-year deal worth $10 million per season. He has a cap hit of $8.7 million this season.

The Penguins could use another top-six wing and only have about $3.5 million in cap space.

NHL Rumors: Does Maple Leaf Owe Craig Berube to Give It a Shot With Mitch Marner?

“The way we are going on the ice is that we are not looking to just enter the play-offs,” said Dubas. “Which is to restore the team so that it can be a competitor immediately.

“Can we do that this season? Can we do that next season? It's hard to put a time frame on it. But this is clearly not a strip-it-down-to-the-studs situation here; the people in the house are too good to know that.”