- Dave Isaac: “You know why Nashville won’t trade Weber? Because as of July 1, they’ll have paid him 38% of a contract that he’s only completed 14% of.”
- The Fourth Period: The Hurricanes could look to the free agent market as Cam Ward is out three to four weeks and Anton Khudobin still on the IR. Free agent targets could be Jose Theodore, Rick DiPietro, Johan Hedberg and Ilya Bryzgalov.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avs Paul Stastny will be a UFA at the end of the season and thought was that he’d be trade bait at the trade deadline or sign elsewhere at the start of free agency. Patrick Roymay have other hopes though.
“It’s a beautiful problem to have,” Roy said. “I’d rather deal with this than having no centers. Honestly, it hasn’t been a problem so far. Everybody is having their share of ice time. We’re very lucky. You look at all the teams at the top of the standings, they all have three very good centers and four good lines. When you build a team, you want to build it (up) the middle.”
Stastny’s agent said there have been no talks, and they are fine with that.
“Whether it’s in the back of my mind or not, it’s something you can’t really worry about,” said Stastny, a former University of Denver star. “It’s out of your control. If you’re part of the solution, then you are. If you’re not, you’re not. I’m just having fun with this team right now and doing anything I can to help it win.”
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: Cox wonders now that Martin Brodeur appears to the be the backup in New Jersey, is it time for him to moved on? “But now he’s No. 2 and the team is going nowhere. It’s not hard to project that some team, a contender, would be more than happy to have Brodeur, who’s $4.5 million contract expires this season, on the bench as insurance when the playoffs begin. Pittsburgh? Boston? Montreal? Detroit? Washington? Heck, the Carolina Hurricanes, with Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin out with injuries, could use him now.”