New Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney remarked that other National Hockey League executives “have been playing nice in the sandbox” so far.

Perhaps that observation was based on new people such as Sweeny now at the controls. But the comment, made via Comcast Sportsnet, might be different if he’s asked in a few days. Some GMs have lots of old toys and others need new ones and with July 1 approaching, rosters need to be tailored to the estimated $71-million US cap, free agents identified as either keepers or kaput and aggressive trading is about to commence as Cup fever ebbs.

All 30 teams will be in close proximity starting Wednesday as they arrive in hotels in and around Fort Lauderdale for the weekend draft a few miles inland in Sunrise, home of the Panthers.

“We’re trying to figure out how to get a little better,” Red Wings GM Ken Holland told the Detroit Free Press. “It’s not a great UFA market (this summer).”

The Cup champion Blackhawks are in a similar position to 2010, when they found themselves unable to afford to keep their championship team together. They’ve won twice since, but still have to be under the cap in October.

“I haven’t really put much thought into (a forced move),” said Patrick Sharp, a Hawk since December 2005 and present for all three of their Cup runs.

Potential casualties also include Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg.

“Nobody brings back the same exact team,” Chicago GM Stan Bowman told nhl.com. “There’s a lot of things we haven’t quite locked down yet. We don’t know what the cap number is. That’s going to be a part of it. That’s going to be released over the next 10 days, probably.

“We’re going to do our best to keep the guys that we can. I wouldn’t rule anything out yet, but obviously there will be some changes.”

New NHL sked next week

On Thursday, the day before its most talked-about amateur draft in years, the NHL will reveal one of its most anticipated regular-season schedules.

With some high profile moves behind the benches in past weeks, media, fans and of course the players want to know dates such as Mike Babcock’s debut with the Maple Leafs, when he makes his homecoming to Detroit against former pupil Jeff Blashill and when he’ll be booed for the first of many times in Buffalo. The Leafs will also have exhibition games in both cities.

Edmonton’s Todd McLellan will be tracked for his return to San Jose, Dan Bylsma and his Sabres into his old haunt in Pittsburgh and Edmonton’s first visit to Boston will be Peter Chiarelli’s comeback after being let go by the Bruins as GM.

On the ice, Connor McDavid’s first game with the Oilers, barring a major upset with the first pick on draft day, will also be circled on everyone’s calendar. When McDavid does get to Southern Ontario, there’ll be huge interest in Toronto and Buffalo, which both lost out on the draft lottery. There’s also his first meeting with projected No. 2 pick, centre Jack Eichel of the Sabres.

Desert dealings detailed

A major point in the City of Glendale’s fight to void the arena deal with the Arizona Coyotes concerns a state conflict-of-interest law.

The city is seeking to end its 15-year, $225-million US agreement with the team, voting 5-2 at council last week to terminate.

Documents the city filed Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court include personal and business e-mails spanning three years between team president Anthony LeBlanc and former city attorney Craig Tindall. The latter left the city to work for the Coyotes less than two months after Glendale signed the deal, which requires it to pay the attendance-challenged Coyotes $15 million a year.

The city claims the e-mails show Tindall and LeBlanc were in discussion about hockey related business as far back as April 2010.

Ice Chips

Sharp is going to cost another team at least a first rounder and a prospect, plus perhaps a top six forward according to an NHL source in a story making the internet rounds on Friday ... Stars GM Jim Nill tells the Dallas Morning News that both forwards Shawn Horcoff and Scott Glennie aren’t returning. Horcoff, 36, can become a UFA and expected he’d be let go as the Stars try and get younger. Glennie was the eighth overall pick in 2009, right after the Leafs took Nazem Kadri and just before Ottawa selected defenceman Jared Cowen. However, injuries limited Glennie to one NHL game before he showed renewed promise this year on the farm ... Looks like 6-foot-3 defenceman Carl Soderberg is done in Boston as he reaches age 30 in a few months ... Vladimir Vujtek, father of the NHLer of the same name, is going to be the new coach of the Czech national team according to IIHF reports. He’d replace Vladimir Ruzicka, who resigned earlier this month as part of an alleged bribery case ... McDavid, Eichel, Dylan Strome, Noah Hanifin and other top prospects will be taking batting practice with the Miami Marlins on Wednesday ... Winger Greg Parks, one of the last non-NHLers to play for the Canadian Olympic team, has passed away in Edmonton at age 48. He was on the 1994 squad that won a silver medal in Norway.