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LeBrun: The latest rumblings on the NHL’s pending UFA class, from Pastrnak to Kane/Toews to O’Reilly and more

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The new year traditionally opens up a window of renewed discussions between player agents and teams on high-profile pending unrestricted free agents.

Both sides tend to circle back to each other for various reasons, some to try to fortify talks on an extension, others to crystallize trade-deadline plans, and others still to agree that things should be put on hold until after the season.

Whatever the case is, January is a fertile month for talks.

So with that in mind, let’s take stock of some of the most notable pending UFAs. Here’s the latest:

This is such a fascinating one, for all kinds of reasons. There are a lot of people who figured David Pastrnak, the Bruins’ most prolific offensive superstar, would have been extended before the season began, let alone before Christmas.

There’s been ongoing dialogue, but my sense is that the gap in positions is real.

On one side, you’ve got general manager Don Sweeney trying to maintain a Bruins salary-cap culture that’s the envy of every front office in the league, which means trying to get Pastrnak to take less than market value to stay put. On the other, you’ve got veteran agent JP Barry, who is fresh off negotiating an extension of Matthew Barzal’s whopper with the Islanders in the fall. As long as Pastrnak doesn’t blink, he’s got an agent willing to stand his ground and wait for the kind of deal that a special player like this deserves. Which is to say, an average annual value in double digits on a long-term deal.

The good news is that talks haven’t broken off.

“I’ve been in regular discussions with Don about our respective positions for a few months,” Barry told The Athletic Wednesday. “We remain apart at this juncture. We will continue to negotiate.”

There’s no way the first-place Bruins could even contemplate moving Pastrnak at the March 3 trade deadline, given their chance to contend for a Stanley Cup. So the real deadline here is June 30 at midnight, before the player can hit the UFA market.

Still, I’m sure both sides would appreciate some closure before then. That is why I believe they will keep taking swings at this. Pasta doesn’t want to go anywhere, so my prediction is he does re-sign. But it might take some Evgeni Malkin-like, 11th-hour drama around June 30 or July 1.

I’m putting Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews together just because they’re both represented by agent Pat Brisson, but in no way are they a package deal. There’s the possibility of each player making different decisions here.

There’s just no guarantee Toews wants to go anywhere. And it’s not 100 percent yet with Kane, either, although it’s more likely in his case, which is why there’s that big conversation coming.

Brisson, reached by phone Wednesday, said he’s planning to chat with both players “within the next three weeks” about their feelings regarding the trade deadline. So we should start to get some clarity on where this is headed after that. Both control their own destiny, with full no-move clauses. Brisson added that he doubted an extension with a new team would be part of the trade process, although he wouldn’t completely close the door on it.

Brisson handled a similar situation a year ago with client Claude Giroux, who also had a full no-move. We know from that experience that if Kane or Toews signifies he’s open to a trade, Brisson himself will likely be involved in flushing out the market, which could be a pretty limited list of potential suitors depending on Kane’s wishes.

We’ve covered a lot of ground on this file in the month since it came out that the Canucks had dropped a new contract offer to Bo Horvat but that it was rejected. That put the team in full trade mode with Horvat, who is having a career season.

I refuse to ever say “never” in these delicate situations — maybe the Canucks still find a way to sign Horvat despite the appearance that ship has sailed — but in truth, it really needed to get done last summer. The sides were just too far apart in their contract positions.

As far as the latest here, it sounds like it’s status quo.

“There’s been no new negotiating conversations in terms of Bo Horvat,” his agent Pat Morris said Thursday.

My sense is it’s been slow going here in talks between Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings, but it’s still going at least.

“We’re having ongoing discussions,” was all Brisson would share Wednesday.

Brisson and CAA Sports teammate Matt Williams represent Larkin. You’ve got GM Steve Yzerman on the other side of it, and he’s handled some big contracts going back to his days running Tampa Bay, where he set up a nice cap culture en route to building a team that contends every year.

This Larkin negotiation looms large because Yzerman will have younger core pieces to sign in years to come. The Larkin deal, if it gets done, will set the tone.

The fact that he hasn’t been extended yet speaks to the obvious gap in positions. It feels like both sides still have room to move here. I predict it gets done eventually.

The plan before the season, as I heard it, was that the Blues would circle back to Ryan O’Reilly’s camp, led by Morris, in the new year. But with the Blues still struggling to stabilize their season, I think it’s more likely O’Reilly gets dealt as opposed to extended.

“Nothing new to report,” Morris said Thursday, adding that there haven’t been any contract negotiations so far this season.

O’Reilly doesn’t have no-trade protection, so the Blues should be able to drum up a nice market for the 2019 playoff MVP (Toronto? Colorado?) if they indeed decide to move him.

And from the captain-obvious category, Vladimir Tarasenko, who asked for a change of scenery about a year and a half ago (following the 2020-21 season), isn’t signing an extension. That’s for sure. Unlike O’Reilly, however, Tarasenko has a full no-trade clause, so he will have a say in what happens ahead of March 3.

Mike Bunting, Toronto Maple Leafs

There’s little doubt that Mike Bunting wants to remain in Toronto this past year and that the Maple Leafs want to keep him. But for the moment, it’s been very quiet on the contract front.

“We are not in negotiations at this time,” Bunting’s agent Paul Capizzano told The Athletic on Wednesday.

As I reported back in October. I believe the player would be interested in a max eight-year deal to secure his future with his hometown team, and I believe the Leafs front office might actually look at that, given the ability to massage the AAV. But for now, they haven’t picked up the phone yet, which might speak more to the sense of how much is riding on this season as a whole for the team, as far as finally delivering in the playoffs.

At 27, Tristan Jarry is arguably the top pending UFA netminder, with all due respect to Frederik Andersen, Semyon Varlamov, Cam Talbot and Jonathan Quick. He’s put up a respectable .918 save percentage this season, not to mention a 15-4-4 record for a Penguins team on the playoff bubble, and he’s proven to be a reliable starter over the past few seasons.

As for an extension, I’m told there were talks with his camp, led by Newport Sports, earlier this season but that there’s nothing new to report since.

Max Pacioretty sure sounded like a guy falling in love with his new surroundings when I caught up with him in November, which is interesting given that he’s yet to play a game for Carolina.

Pacioretty will feel like a major trade deadline addition for the Canes when he’s fully healthy and makes his debut. From a Hurricanes’ perspective, it makes sense to wait and see how he fits in on the ice before reaching out regarding any extension, which is why I suspect that will wait until after the season.

“Max has been treated very well by everyone in Carolina, and his family has settled in and they’re all very happy there,” Pacioretty’s agent Allan Walsh said Wednesday. “With Max, family is always a key part of any discussion on his future. Right now, his singular focus is on returning to play and helping the Hurricanes. I’m sure the team wants to see how he fits into their system.

“Max has been one of the most prolific NHL goal scorers over the last decade and the immediate goal is returning to form and staying healthy. The business side of what comes next is a discussion for after the season.”

John Klingberg has the unique no-trade clause, which is a full one until Jan. 1 and then drops to a 10-team modified no-trade, with Klingberg listing 10 teams he could get traded to. So that goes into effect Sunday.

There’s little reason to think the rebuilding Ducks would see value in extending Klingberg. Flipping him before the March 3 deadline was always the most likely plan when both sides agreed to a one-year, $7-million deal back in August.

Veteran blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk is an important leader for the rebuilding Ducks core, so I wonder if the club would at least explore what it would take to keep him. But given how Ducks GM Pat Verbeek dealt with his pending UFAs a year ago, trading all three of Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson, it would seem more likely that Shattenkirk gets dealt for assets.

“I haven’t spoken to the Ducks lately, but Kevin is very happy there, and we hope to connect early in the new year and see how this plays out,” Shattenkirk’s agent Jordan Neumann said Wednesday.

Talks on an extension broke down last summer over term, and there hasn’t been much between the sides since then. Given that the Devils are focused on securing a playoff spot, I’m not sure much will happen here until after the season. But I do wonder if Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald would listen to Severson if a team called offering a hockey deal that helps the Devils.

“Tom and I spoke during the offseason. … We had a couple conversations on Damon’s future with the Devils,” Severson’s agent Jason Davidson said Wednesday. “At this point, it’s fair to say that Damon and the Devils are focused on this season.”

(Top photo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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