On the Montreal Canadiens …
- Loui Jean: The door remains open for Dale Weise to re-sign with the Canadiens as a UFA, but his price could go up playing in Chicago.
- Loui Jean: A new contract was never really close with Weise. The Canadiens wanted to keep him, but could get the money or term to work.
- Eric Engels: Wonder if Torrey Mitchell gets interest before Monday.
- Eric Engels: The return for Lars Eller would have to be quite high if they moved him.
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets will be sellers at that deadline, with Scott Hartnell’s and Fedor Tyutin’s name coming up.
“I don’t think it changes anything,” Kekalainen told The Dispatch this morning, referring to the club’s strong play of late. “We know what we have. We’re going to build around the young core and make moves that make sense for the long-term.
“It’s been pretty quiet so far. You need the top players to get off the board, like Andrew Ladd (trade from Winnipeg to Chicago) yesterday and possible a few others (today). Once those get moving, you’re going to see a little more movement toward the deadline, I bet.”
It’s not known if there would be a market for Gregory Campbell or Rene Bourque.
“I try to always be active … proactive, trying to find ways to get better,” Kekalainen said. “I’m pretty active with phone calls throughout the season, and that leads into this part of the season.
“I’ve gone through most of the teams, I know what their needs are and where they’re at. When you start to see some of the guys go off the top of the rental board, there’s going to be more movement. Everybody is going to go for the guys at the top of the list.”
Hartnell has three years left on his deal at a $4.75 million cap hit. The Predators have been scouting the Blue Jackets lately. Hartnell would have to waive his no-trade clause.
GM Jarmo kekalainen when asked if they’d retain salary: “I don’t want to speculate about that one. We’ll see what the deadline brings, what the supply and demand is for players.”