- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN:
“There hasn’t been much real talk,” Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon told ESPN.com this week. “Teams are saying ‘We’ll talk later, we’ll talk later.’ But that’s fine.”
“There’s been lots of talk going on, but it’s hard to jar anything loose right now,” Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson said this week.
“Most of us have players that we would make available even right now for a trade, either because they’re underperforming and/or overpaid,” Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier told us this week. “But it’s impossible right now to get an agreement on values. We’re all hoping that we’re going to be able to just charge a cost without taking anything back, and that’s not reality. So I think, yes, we’re all sitting around to the last day or two again .”
The Maple Leafs and Senators have been trying to make trades (not with each other) for some time but haven’t had any luck. It doesn’t look like the Senators will move Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza. The Leafs may be ready to take draft picks and prospects as ‘traditional hockey deals’ are harder to do nowadays. There’s the Tomas Kaberle and his no-trade clause question that will be brought up again. Francois Beauchemin and Kris Versteeg will continue get interest. Sheldon Souray is still available. Dustin Penner should draw some interest. Future UFA’s the Sabres have are Tim Connolly, Mike Grier, Rob Niedermayer, Craig Rivet and Steve Montador.
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sidney Crosby has been cleared by doctors to begin light workouts. He’s been out since Jan. 5th with a mild concussion. Crosby will have to be symptom free from the workout before he’ll be able to practice with the team.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Sources are saying that the Ottawa Senators are trying to move Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar has 2 year and $11 million left on his deal. The Sharks, Bruins, and Blue Jackets are teams that have shown interest in adding a defenseman. “You could deal him, but you’re going to have to take somebody back,” said one NHL insider. “It’s going to have to be a dollar-for-dollar, which means they’ll have to take someone’s big contract back. “This is going to be a really tough deal for (the Senators) to make.” Chris Phillips and Jarkko Ruutu have been the most talked about names.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: A list of players who’s names have come up the most in trade rumors: Mike Fisher (OTT), Tim Connolly (BUF), Daniel Alfredsson (OTT), Sergei Gonchar (OTT), Chris Phillips (OTT), Robyn Regehr (CAL), Bryan McCabe (FLA), Stephen Weiss (FLA), Tomas Vokoun (FLA), Cory Stillman (FLA), Drew Stafford (BUF), Tomas Kaberle (TOR), Francois Beauchemin (TOR), JS Giguere (TOR), Jason Arnott (NJ), Brad Richards (DAL), and Devin Setoguchi (SJ).
- Michael Arace of the Columbus Post-Dispatch: If the Columbus Blue Jackets fall out of the playoff race, they could look to move Jan Hejda, Kristian Huselius, Sammy Pahlsson, and Chris Clark.
- Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: The NY Rangers should get Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi back on Tuesday. Vinnie Prospal is close to returning, and before the trade deadline they’ll also get Erik Christensen, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko back. Spector polled fans to see what they wanted to the Rangers to do, the results: Stand pat: 36% Defenseman: 23% Center: 13% Trade a veteran: 11% Address a weakness only if the market price is good: 7% Any power play help: 5% Jason Strudwick-type defenseman who can also spell a forward: 3% Jarome Iginla: 2%. Specific defenseman named: Anton Babchuk (Flames), Brent Burns (Wild), Brian McCabe (Panthers), Steve Montador (Sabres) and Tomas Kaberle (Maple Leafs).
- Lisa Wallace of the Globe and Mail: Ray Emery is hoping to get a contract in the next couple of weeks, as he continues he comeback attempt. Last April he had bone grafted from his leg and inserted “into the ball of the hip.” He was on the ice in Ottawa with goaltending coach Eli Wilson. “I’m ready to go and start training in the American Hockey League and know that my body can take that kind of exertion,” Emery said. “The hockey’s not all the way there. I feel like a player at the end of the summer who needs some training and some games to get a feeling for the game again.”
- Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: The Blackhawks are looking to add another defenseman and a center. Players they might be offering as trade bait are Victor Stalberg, Jack Skille, and Nick Boynton. Defenseman that Sassone thinks they could look at are Bryan McCabe, Roman Hamrlik, Joni Pitkanen, and Chris Phillips.