- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune: Kovacevic wonders if the Penguins should trade Kris Letang. The idea is not from any negative point of view. “It’s that Letang remains so valuable that he can get you a mint. And if that mint happens to involve pieces that work better with the Penguins’ broader puzzle, all the more reason a trade merits robust consideration.” GM Ray Shero has been adamant that he won’t go the rental route again. The Penguins need more than a rental, they need an impact performer over a variety of AHL call-ups. Letang’s cap hit will go to $7.25 million starting next season, and he’s under contract for the next eight seasons. They have Matt Niskanen, Paul Martin and Olli Maatta for the short-term, with Derrick Pouliot as part of the long-term.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: New Sabres GM Tim Murray will need to decide what to do with Matt Moulson, Ryan Miller and nine other pending UFAs.
“When the concrete offers start coming in, and if the offers are legit offers that improve the franchise going forward, I have to listen,” Murray said. “I think that all the pending UFAs are probably expecting to be moved; I’m not going to say they’re definitely going to be moved, there has to be a market.”
“We’re just starting to explore the market the last day or two,” Murray said. “I’ve had some calls, and most of the calls are just generalities: ‘If I can meet your demand, would you be willing to move him?’ So you have teams calling, for sure, and they’re asking about different players. Every team has a different need; the same names come up, obviously, as far as the forwards go. My mandate here is to get better. I don’t want a five-year rebuild, that’s not what I’m about. It’s about getting better, and if that means trading guys and getting assets for them, then that’s the way it will be.”
Trade a goalie mid-season is tricky. The market may help determine if the Sabres trade Miller. More teams are interested in rental forwards.
- Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: The Predators feel like Victor Bartley can fill Kevin Klein’s role. With the Predators blueline getting younger, Cooper poses the question: would the Predators make the 29-year old Shea Weber available? The Preds will say they won’t trade Weber, but their blueline looks like it’s in a bit of a rebuild. Weber’s value may never be higher than it is now. A Weber trade likely won’t happen though.