EURO players are really greedy right now. When we advance to the next step, they will be more in the mood to take what they can get. Instead of holding out for $6 million today, a player might take $4 million on Wednesday.

So what does a general manager do? If he has cash to burn, the answer is obvious: “Anze, Patrick … come play for my team for $6 million, would you?”

But for those more cautious with their cash, the decision is often: “Maybe I’ll let Kopitar, Kane and some other good guys go to other teams and then shoot for Tomas Tatar or Cody Hodgson. They are not as famous, but they are almost as good – OV-wise – and we’ll save a couple million.”

As of Sunday morning ET, Kopitar, Kane and Marius Holtet are the only free agents weighing new contract offers. By Monday afternoon. They will be on someone’s roster.

The commissioner will speed things along, so if you want to make offers in this step, act soon and check in often.

UPDATE: Patrick Kane gave Interail fans a scare, but in the end, he decided to stay in Bern, signing a 1-year deal for $6.1 million. Kane played the last 2 seasons in Bern after winning 2 EURO Cups in five seasons with Minsk. He started out as Zurich’s star rightwinger, playing there the first 4 seasons of the league. He is 34 now and seemed to slow a bit last season, scoring 58 points in 80 games. His best year was Season 6 in Minsk when he scored 101 points and was +62.