- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: On the Flames offer sheet to Ryan O’Reilly,
“Calgary should have known (the Avs) were going to match it no matter what,” said a league insider Friday. “By doing this, what they’ve done is given a division rival one of their best players back instead of having that guy traded elsewhere.
“The Flames have given the Avs a top-six forward and the ammo that could knock Calgary out of a playoff race. This could really end badly for the Flames.”
Had the Flames not made the offer, O’Reilly would have been traded to an Eastern Conference team. The Canucks, Red Wings and Flames tried to trade for him. Avs GM Sherman was trying to trade him to the Rangers, Maple Leafs or Lightning. The Avs wanted a player, prospect and No. 1 pick. Sources say that the Avs asked for Michael Del Zotto, Chris Kreider and a No. 1.
The Rangers, Flames and Flyers are making trade calls. “Teams are thinking they’ve got to do something now if they’re going to stand a chance,” said a league executive Friday.
The Rangers, Blues and Senators are looking for a defenseman.
Many GMs think the Penguins will make a deal for Jarome Iginla.
Unless the Senators get a really good offer for Ben Bishop, don’t expect them to trade him. Robin Lehner won’t be waiver exempt next season.
The clock could be ticking for Lightning coach Guy Boucher.
If the Ducks were to trade Corey Perry, the Maple Leafs would be interested. They would want to have a chance to sign him before giving up top prospects. It is believed that the Ducks and Ryan Getzlaf are getting closer to a deal. Talks are ongoing with Perry, but the sense is that he won’t re-sign.
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin may not be done as he’d like to free up a bit more money.
The Rangers may be looking to add a bit more grit. The Rangers may have floated the idea of moving Marian Gaborik. He has a cap hit of $7.5 million through 2014-15.
The Panthers may be active at the trade deadline. It’s believed they won’t be able to sign Stephen Weiss, and there are several teams that will be interested. The Wings have asked about Weiss.
The Stars will have to decide if they want to re-sign Brenden Morrow or trade him.
The Bruins, Blues, Penguins and Flyers are looking for help.
- Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun: Flames GM Jay Feaster said over a year ago on if they were to trade Miikki Kiprusoff,
“If we were to trade 34 (Kiprusoff), is there a position lower than 30th?,” was Feaster’s reply just over a year ago. “If we were to trade 34, we’d be sub-30, whatever that number is in a 30-team league.”
Kiprusoff no longer has a no-trade clause, and moving him would kick-start a flames rebuild. One problem is that the Flames don’t have goalie ready to take over the number 1 position. There is some hope that Kari Ramo would return the NHL next season. Also in their system are Danny Taylor, Leland Irving and even Barry Brust, but none have proven that they are NHLers.
- Dan Tencer via twitter: When asked if he knew that Ryan O’Reilly would have to clear waivers if Colorado didn’t match the offer sheet, Cancucks GM Mike Gillis said “yes.”
- Dan Tencer via twitter: When asked if he was close to trading Roberto Luongo prior to the season, Gillis said “Yeah. Yeah, we were.”
- Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: Wild forward Matt Cullenwill be a UFA at the end of the season, and knows he could find himself in the trade rumors.
“When I signed here three years ago, I wanted to win a Cup here. I hope we can do that this year,” Cullen said. “I love it here. My family’s from here. It’s a great organization. I love every part of it. It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and start thinking about this stuff, and I know it will be on the forefront here before long as we get closer to the deadline.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know what I hope for, though.”