Rumour Tidbits, July 8th: Sharp suitors shrinking?

If you've been keeping a close eye on the Rumour Board the last few weeks, you'd have been startled to see Vladimir Tarasenko at 1% going to the KHL.

Why was he on the Board at all? Well, SKA Petersburg reportedly offered him a long term contract of $11 million dollars a season.

That's a lot of money.

Nonetheless, it was never a serious consideration for Tarasenko, and his name is off the Rumour Board again. Like Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin before him, Tarasenko has turned down "bigger" offers from the KHL for the stability of the NHL.

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It really doesn't sound like the Panthers are in on Patrick Sharp. Rumours swirled on Twitter that a deal was imminent, but it was quickly shot down by those close to the Panthers.

So where will he end up? The Flyers, Islanders, Canadiens and Sabres are among the teams that have asked on Sharp. The offers being made for are still well below what Chicago has asked for. The Blackhawks may have to wait quite a while for someone to step up and sweeten the pot. Philadelphia in particular would need shed a lot more salary, extend Jakub Voracek and deal with their RFAs before they could consider a deal of this magnitude.

The Maple Leafs are still open to taking on bad contracts in return for acquiring more young assets and picks. Teams hoping to offload these bad contracts remain patient, knowing there is no pressure to get under the salary cap until training camp in September.

UFA forward Maxim Lapierre is getting close to a signing a deal. It's down to two teams, both believed to be in the Eastern Conference.

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