- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Predators GM David Poile on the Devan Dubnyk trade and his search for a goalie.
“After we realized that Pekka would be out for an extended period of time, we’ve been trying to improve ourselves in goal, and in order to do that you need a partner to do that with,” Poile told ESPN.com Thursday. “But we just didn’t have one. There was no goalie available. This was really the first opportunity. It’s all about timing, I wish we could have done this earlier in the season but it just wasn’t available to us.”
The Ducks may be looking for a right handed defenseman. Rangers Dan Girardi is at the top of their wishlist, but the Rangers are hopeful they can re-sign him.
The trade freeze for Avalanche’s Ryan O’Reilly lifts on February 28th. Several teams are looking to see what the Avs will do with him. He’ll be a RFA with a qualifying offer of $6.5 million. He can sign an extension for less. There would be at least 12 teams that would be interested in him. They could use a defenseman. Pending UFA Paul Stastny could also be used to upgrade their defense. The Canucks could use O’Reilly and they have depth on the blueline.
The Sabres could trade Ryan Miller by the trade deadline, but sources saying there isn’t a lot going on now.
Jonas Hiller will be looked at by the Oilers if he hits on the open market this offseason. The Oilers could also look at the trade market which could include Cam Ward.
The Panthers could be interested Michal Neuvirth. There hasn’t been any talks between the two teams. Could be more of an offseason move for the Panthers.
Some sources are saying that Nazem Kadri is in play, but the Leafs are listening and not pushing.
- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie: “I think the goal for Edmonton is to try to sign Jonas Hiller this summer to be the top guy.” … “The Oilers keep on paying prices for goaltenders that may be marginal improvements on who they have.”
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger: “Much of the Kadri trade talk is media driven. He is an interesting case. He’s had enough time to develop into an NHL player.” … “The real Kadri is the player we’re seeing now. He’s very skilled but I don’t think he’s the right fit as a #2 C.” … “I buy the trade speculation, but I don’t think the Leafs are eager to move him because of their weakness up the middle of the ice” … “If Kadri is going to be involved in a trade, I’ve been told bluntly by Nonis that it needs to be for a C in return” … “Who’s going to give you a better C for someone who may develop into a good C?” … “I do think Kadri gets moved this year but it’s going to be a delicate one.”
- Hope Smoke: Dave Nonis on the Radio: “Kadri and Gardiner’s names are brought up quite a bit, so is Rielly’s. We’d be willing to trade Kadri.” … “There’s a difference between willing to and trying to. If the right deal comes up we would do it.” … “If the right deal for JVR comes up we would do that to. We’re willing to trade anyone if it means our club gets better” … “We would also trade Reimer if it made our organization better. I can also see Reimer back here next year challenging with Bernier” … “We’re looking long-term. I don’t see us trading young players for rentals. We still have to continue to add pieces to this org” … “Giving away young players or first round picks just isn’t good for business.”
- Brian Wilde: If Wilde was a GM, he’d make serious inquiries about Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner. The Leafs are getting confused as to who their assets are.
