- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Source said that Roberto Luongo to this point has declined to waive his no trade clause to go to the Blackhawks or Maple Leafs. As of today, the Panthers are the only place he’s willing to be traded to. Bob McKenzie via twitter: There’s a lot of talk about Roberto Luongo waiving/not waiving his no trade clause. McKenzie thinks that the process has yet to be that formal. He prefers Florida, but if that doesn’t work out, doors to Toronto or elsewhere are not closed. At the end of the day, Luongo has to make sure he doesn’t end up with Chicago of the AHL. Right now the Panthers and Maple Leafs think the asking price is too high. James Mirtle via twitter: Mirtle thinks that Luongo may have both interest and reservations about a trade to Toronto. Doesn’t think they he’s officially said yes or no. Aaron Portzline via twitter: Portzline thinks Luongo is using the power of his no-trade clause to “steer” a trade to the Panthers as much as possible.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Stars Steve Ott is still in play. LeBrun thinks he’d be a great fit in Montreal. The Stars could hold on to him if they don’t get what they are looking for.
- Rob Rossi via twitter: The Penguins top priority is to find a partner for Kris Letang. A Paul Martin deal almost happened at the draft. The Penguins will be in on Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, but aren’t the favorites. Each player, like Sidney Crosby, would have to take less.
- Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: Despite teams being interested in trading for Ryan Suter’s rights, it’s likely that he’ll test the open market. Suter has given the Predators no indication that he wouldn’t re-sign with the team. If the Predators were to trade his rights, it may hamper David Poile’s attempt re-sign him. Suter is a midwest guy and likes the anonymity of playing in Nashville.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Rangers GM Glen Sather said they will be “as aggressive as possible” in the free agent market.
“The closer to the top you are, you have to be a little more aggressive if you want to get better,” the GM said. “If you trade, you have to give away assets, but in free agency you’re just giving away money and the chance the cap might shrink.
“I think we’re going to try to be as aggressive as possible in the free agent market.”
The Rangers currently have about $20 million in cap space, but need to re-sign Michael Del Zotto and Martin Biron. They’d like Zach Parise. Alexander Semin is one option, but it’s hard to see the Rangers giving him the long term deal he’s said to be looking for. Other options could be Ray Whitney, Ryan Smyth, Shane Doan and maybe Jochen Hecht. The Rangers are interested in Justin Schultz. They talked to the Coyotes about Keith Yandle but the price was too high.
- Randy Miller via twitter: The Flyers would probably have to give up Brayden Schenn, Braydon Coburn and a 1st round pick for Bobby Ryan.