Morning Rumors: MacTavish talks trades … Avs may come into play for Miller
  • TSN Radio: Bob McKenzie: Oilers GM Craig MacTavish is trying to make something happen. He is trying to calm down the sense of panic in Edmonton.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Oilers GM Craig MacTavish:

    “I don’t see how making a bad trade helps anybody. Are we trying to do something to shore up the deficient areas? Absolutely. But I’m not doing something at all costs,” he said. “We’ve got significant pieces. Does the record really reflect the first 13 (14 games actually)? Everybody can draw their own conclusions there. And I’m drawing mine. I don’t think it’s reflective. We’re improving.”

    They won’t look to trade all of their 2014 draft picks for immediate help, but Matheson thinks their first could be in play.

    “You have to put value on what you’re getting and what you’re paying. We’ll do whatever’s reasonable to help this current group,” he said. “But I won’t make a trade because you run the risk of undoing your long-term objectives for a very myopic, very short-sighted gain.”

    On if the Oilers could get a “nasty” type player.

    “There’s a premium on nasty players and that’s not necessarily what we want to pay,” he said.

  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Vogl thinks that the Avalanche might become that “desperate team” that the Sabres might need to trade Ryan Miller. All depending on how the Semyon Varlamov case pans out. The Avalanche were a possible landing spot for Miller in the off-season, but Varlamov’s 7-1 start had stopped those rumors.