Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:
- Only a few GM’s are in Ottawa, Brian Burke is one of them, and everyone is waiting for him to make a move.
“He’s trying. He’s trying hard. He definitely wants to get bigger,” a league executive said Thursday.
The Leafs would love to bring in a hard-nosed forward. A guy they could look at is Sharks winger Ryane Clowe. Clowe has 1 year left at a $3.625 million cap hit. There is word that he might be someone the Sharks could look at moving. It might take more than the Leafs want to offer San Jose to get him though. The Leafs would likely have interest in Tuomo Ruutu. The Hurricanes have talked to Ruutu about a contract extension but it’s believed he’s asking for too much on a long-term deal, so he’ll likely be traded.
- League sources are saying that Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is asking a ton for his UFA defenseman. A league source said that Hurricanes are asking for 2 1st round picks or a 1st round pick and an ‘A’ prospect for one of Tim Gleason, Bryan Allen or Jaroslav Spacek. The asking price will come down.
- The Blue Jackets would move center Antoine Vermette. He’s been available all season.
- The Senators and defenseman Erik Karlsson’s camp haven’t had any serious contract talks. It will likely wait until after the season.
- The Oilers are getting interest in defenseman Theo Peckham and Andy Sutton. Sutton will be a UFA at the end of the year. Peckham will be an RFA, and there are plenty of teams looking for help on the blueline.
- The Ducks, Blackhawks and Lightning could be looking for goaltending help, so keep an eye on Ryan Miller. The Sabres aren’t shopping him, but they’ll have to decide soon if they are in the playoff hunt or not. A Miller for Jonas Hiller trade could be possible.