Hughes, Pettersson and Tkachuk meet in Michigan as they await new deals

With training camp in full bloom and on the eve of the preseason, there are a few teams who still have restricted free agents awaiting new deals - most notably, the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators.

On the Vancouver front, GM Jim Benning had stated last week that he had had some encouraging talks with the camps of both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson and that he hoped to have both signed prior to the beginning of training camp. Obviously, that did not occur and both Hughes and Pettersson remain unsigned with the preseason looming.

Sens GM Pierre Dorion made similar comments regarding Brady Tkachuk in Ottawa last week, and like his counterpart in Vancouver, Dorion has been unable to find common ground with Tkachuk and now runs the risk of a holdout dragging on into the regular season if they can't find a way to bridge the gap.

On Friday, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported that Pettersson, Hughes and Tkachuk have decided to meet in Michigan and are all skating together while they await new deals.

Of these two clubs, I think it's fair to suggest that Ottawa will be afforded a longer leash in terms of expected success in the upcoming season.

With Jim Benning already sitting on the hot seat in Vancouver, I can't imagine that a pair of RFA holdouts or another underachieving season will do anything to lengthen his tenure there.

I am of the mindset that deals will get done sooner than later for both Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes. It's the Elias Pettersson contract that I think may drag on a little while longer - but with that said, I do think it gets done before the start of the regular season.

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