- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: 5 players that the Maple Leafs could be interested in drafting at #5. Mikhail Grigorenko, Filip Forsberg, Matthew Dumba, Jacob Trouba and Radek Faksa.
- Team 1200 Ottawa: Rumors out of New York are that the Rangers are aggressively shopping center Brandon Dubinsky.
- Rob Rossi via twitter: As of late last night, the Penguins haven’t informed interested teams if Jordan Staal is available or not. Several teams have already inquired. The Hurricanes will be big on Staal if he becomes available, offering multiple players. A deal won’t have to be wrapped up at the draft.
- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Darcy Regier:
“We are very active as it relates to finding ways to improve our hockey team,” Regier said during the team’s draft preview gathering with reporters. “Some of the names you hear that are out there, we’ve had conversations with those teams. I think it’s way too early to know whether or not anything will happen. There are a lot of teams like us in similar positions.”
“More calls have gone out than I’ve been receiving but that doesn’t mean it won’t change,” Regier said. “The tendency is for this thing to ramp up as you approach the draft and when you get on the floor, it gets a little crazier.”
“There’s some obvious guys we don’t have any interest in talking about right now and you can figure out who they are. But I make it a practice to call teams and ask them for players that I assume they’re not willing to trade, nor do they want to trade. And other GMs do the same with me.
“You let them know if they change their mind to please give me a call and I certainly do a lot more of that now than I used to.”
The Sabres are believed to be shopping Derek Roy. Regier thinks it may not be worth the cost to move up in the draft. They have not started negotiations with RFA Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta. Jochen Hecht has been cleared from his concussion, but it’s unlikely he’ll be back.
- Jeff Marek via twitter: With the Sharks bringing in Brad Stuart, the odd man out on their blueline may be Jason Demers.
- David Pollak via twitter: It’s been confirmed that Todd McLellan will be back next season with the Sharks.