- Eliotte Friedman of CBC: On the Canucks rumors:
“Canuck rumour I: That the Aquilini family forced Tortorella on Gillis. Verdict: Skeptical.”
“Canuck rumour II: That ownership blocked Gillis from trading Ryan Kesler at the deadline. Verdict: Don’t believe it.”
“Canuck rumour III: That ownership is courting Trevor Linden. Verdict: God only knows.”
The six teams that are believed to be in Ryan Kesler’s list: Ducks, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Red Wings, Penguins and Lightning. Only the Ducks and Penguins were really into trading for him at the draft.
The Islanders will have to let the Sabres know by June first if they will be sending them their first round pick this year as part of the Thomas Vanek-Matt Moulson trade.
The Islanders had targeted Sebastien Colberg with their 34th pick in 2012 but the Canadiens took him at 33. Could be one of the reasons the Islanders took the Canadiens offer over the Wild and Maple Leafs offers.
A former teammate on Steve Yzerman regarding the Martin St. Louis situation: “I’ve seen him angry before… but never that angry.”
Rumor that the Oilers were looking hard at Sabres Tyler Myers. Getting shot down. Name may have come up, but it was determined quickly that there was not a match.
Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis “took a hatchet” to trade rumors involving the Panthers and Nikolai Kulemin.
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is getting a contract extension.
Quote from trade deadline: “Want to make Bob Murray laugh? Ask him if John Gibson is available.”
Teams called the Senators about defenseman Jared Cowen.
“I believe this guy is going to be a really good player for a long time,” Murray said. “He’s lost his confidence. We’re going to send him home in the summer and start fresh next year with a new outlook. That’s all it is.”
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: Canadiens Thomas Vanek doesn’t want to talk about his pending UFA status.
“My focus is on helping the Canadiens win,” Vanek said after joining the team in Phoenix. “That’s all I’m thinking about now.”
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Avs are confident they will be able to re-sign pending UFA Reto Berra to a multi-year deal.
“We’re presently working on signing him,” Roy said, adding that he and vice president Joe Sakic would not have given up a second-round draft pick if they expected Berra would test free agency.
Avs J.S. Giguere could be leaning towards retirement.
“Not 100 percent sure, but definitely leaning that way,” he said of retirement.”You have to be honest with yourself, and (the end of the season) might be the time. But I don’t want to talk about that right now. It’s not the time or place.”
- The Fourth Period: The Canadiens have upped their offer to Andrei Markov from one year up to two years, worth around the same as he’s making this season, $5.75 million. It is thought that Markov has been asking for a three or four year deal. Negotiations will continue, but the Canadiens may be holding firm on just two years.
- Hope Smoke: Pierre LeBrun: “Odd dynamic in Van. Talked to a scout yesterday who said the Canucks D group is a puck moving core & they’re playing a chip & chase”
- Hope Smoke: Pierre LeBrun: “Canucks told everyone that other than the twins everyone else was available? Why not trade the twins too?” … “If you’re going to rebuild, why not sit down with the Sedins and blow it up completely?” … “The twins have not been good since the day they signed their extension, Garrisson and Edler have been brutal. Burrows can’t score” … “All these players are having career worst seasons. Is this just a coincidence? It goes back to talking about Tortorella”
- Hope Smoke: Maple Leafs Claude Loiselle: “Our hands were tied going into the deadline because of cap space” … “We could have done something but it had to be a perfect fit and we just couldn’t find it”