Robert Thomas talks slowed due to his injury
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman, when asked about St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas, who has had his name in the rumor mill, but is currently out injured.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“So there’s been a lot of talk about Robert Thomas and his future in St Louis, and one thing that’s happened was he had surgery earlier this week. A small cleanup procedure. So he’s going to be out of the lineup until just after the Olympics.
So that might slow down any conversations there. I will say this, that a bunch of teams who kind of talked about it, said there’s not very many people in the league who can do what St. Louis might want to do here.
But thankfully, it’s not serious. It won’t cost him the rest of the season. But Thomas is out until post All-Star. The Blues, I think, have two games left.”
NHL Rumors: St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks
Teams that are interested in trading for and signing Artemi Panarin to an extension, and those interested in him as a rental
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman, when asked about New York Rangers pending UFA Artemi Panarin. He has permission to talk to teams about if there’s interest in a possible extension. A list of teams who might be interested in extending him, and those who would be interested in trading for him as a rental.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Friedman: “You know, a couple of teams said it’s kind of like a free agency thing. That we’re basically, Panarin has permission to do it, and they’re basically talking to teams about where he might want to go and who’s interested in doing it with an extension.
As we sit here tonight, there’s no question that extension matters still to him. I think there’s some teams hoping that that might change, but right now, extension matters to him.
I think the teams that are interested in doing it; Washington, LA, San Jose, Florida. And there’s a lot of teams wondering if the Panthers can actually pull this off.
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And Detroit. I just put them there. You know, (Steve) Yzerman is a vault. I just think with his history of wanting term for guys, people kind of put them there.
Now, Carolina was in two spots there, and the reason is that they’re depending on who you talk to, Carolina is or is not interested in doing it with an extension. I think they’re flexible. It just affects what they might be willing to pay for the player.”
Ron MacLean: “And you said Dallas, Jason Robertson, it’s all kind of up in the air with him.”
Friedman: “As long as, as long as Dallas’s goal is to sign Jason Robertson, I don’t think they can do it. And I think their goal is still to sign Jason Robertson.”
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