- Chris Botta of the NYI Point Blank: If the right player was offered up for the Islanders 1st round pick (5th overall), they wouldn’t hesitate. Flyers Jeff Carter could be that type of player in terms of age and talent, but his cap hit of $5.2 million for 11 years and his sometimes pouty temperament might rule him out. The Islanders have trouble convincing top free agents to come, so looking at the trade route makes sense. They are unwilling to move any of their top prospects. The Islanders won’t be interested in trading their 5th overall pick just to give a cap team a break or for an overpaid aging player, will want equal value. In all likelihood, the Isles will end up keeping the pick.
- Katie Strang via twitter: Islanders pre-draft visits: Huberdeau yetserday, Couturier and Hamilton today, Ryana Murphy tomorrow.
- Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: Despite the rumors, discussions earlier between Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson weren’t about Jeff Carter or the Jackets 8th overall pick. At the time (draft combine, before Bryzgalov trade) the 2 sides were discussing goalie Steve Mason. Now the sides have talked about the pick in a “lesser deal” according to sources. The Flyers don’t want to move Carter. The Flyers would rather move other pieces worth at least $5 million. Matt Carle could interest the Blue Jackets who are looking for a power-play defenseman, but it would take more than that to get the 8th pick. Howson may not be interseted in Scott Hartnell ($4.2 million) or Kris Versteeg ($3.083 million) as he may be looking for an impact centerman. Sergei Bobrovsky would likely be traded as well if they are able to sign Bryzgalov to a long-term deal.
- Pavel Lysenkov of SovSport.ru: The closer it gets to July 1st, the more likely that Jaromir Jagr won’t sign in the KHL, and he could head back to the NHL. SKA has already rejected Jagr. Vanguard isn’t offering much.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Sources are saying that the Dallas Stars could name Glen Gulutzan as their next head coach by the end of this week. Gulutzan is the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.
- Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen: The Ottawa Senators will announce that former Detroit Red Wings assistant Paul MacLean will be the teams 9th head coach, and 4th coach under GM Bryan Murray’s watch. Ottawa Senators via twitter: Sens TV will be streaming the 11 am press conference live, Murray will be making the announcement.
- Pierre LeBrun and Scott Brunside of ESPN: The NHL competition committee is getting closer to approving the rewording of Rule 48.
“We’re definitely headed down the right path in expanding Rule 48,” Schneider said after Monday’s six-hour meeting. “What it’s coming down to is getting the wording down on paper properly and Brendan and I will continue to talk over the next few days and try to nail something down.”
According to the new Rule 48, any hit that targets the head and where the head is the principal point of contact will be illegal. Under terms of Rule 48 this season, only blindside hits to the head were illegal. “It’s very similar to what we talked about at the GMs meeting in the sense of broadening the rule,” league executive Rob Blake said Monday after the meeting. “The exact interpretation will go forward. But we had a good understanding that the union, the players and the NHL together want to go forward for the safety of the players.”
- Darren Millard via twitter: Winnipeg won’t release logo/name on Thursday, but will happen soon.