- Elliotte Friedman of CBC: The Avalanche and Panthers did have serious talks about Dmitry Kulikov, and may do so again.
Panthers Tim Thomas could be a trade deadline target. He has a no-movement clause in his contract.
Predators GM David Poile on if they are ready to see what they could get for some of their players: “No, we just have to start winning some games.” Names that have been mentioned by other teams are Matt Cullen and David Legwand.
Contract talks between the Maple Leafs and Dion Phaneuf were to take place at some point this week.
There was a real attempt by the Canadiens and P.K. Subban to find some common ground.
The Hurricanes will go with three goalies until they decide what to do with one of Cam Ward, Anton Khudobin or Justin Peters.
After three wins, Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford has pulled back on his trade hunt. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto and Jake Gardiner are players up his alley, but the Rangers and Maple Leafs don’t want to take on salary.
Friedman wonders how many GMs called the Canucks about Alex Edler have coach John Tortorella chewed him out.
Jets Evander Kane’s contract makes him extremely valuable with the cap going up.
The Sabres could use a compliance buyout on Ville Leino in the offseason. They now know what the market is for Ryan Miller after Henrik Lundqvist’s signing. Coach Ted Nolan would like to see Miller stay.
Oilers coach Dallas Eakin’s said he considered using forward David Perron on defense in late game 5-on-5 situations if the Oilers need offense.
- The Fourth Period: Contract talks between the Maple Leafs and Dion Phaneuf’s camp are expected to pick up this week if they haven’t already. It was reported in late October that he was looking to get around $7 million a year in a new deal. It is uncertain if the Maple Leafs would be willing to accept a $7+ million deal.
- Dennis Bernstein: “Ducks G Jonas Hiller now 12-4-4, only goalie on roster with playoff experience and they should trade him because……”
- James Mirtle: One interesting name that may be available is Panthers Shawn Matthias. If the Leafs are looking to change up their forward mix, he is big and can play center.
- Bucky Gleason: Sabres coach Ted Nolan is committed to fixing Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford. Ryan Miller is integral to the Sabres, either by re-signing him or by trading him to acquire assets. Nobody is untouchable in Buffalo. Steve Ott and Matt Moulson will be UFAs at the season and could be gone before the end of the season. Gleason thinks the Sabres need to package some of the draft picks they’ve stockpiled and acquire top-line talent they lost when they traded them away.
- Craig Custance of ESPN: Penguins Brooks Orpik is their only top four defenseman that doesn’t have a deal for next season.
“We’ll see,” Shero said, when asked about what that means for a potential Orpik deal. “We’ll sit down and talk about it internally and see where we are. Who knows? Players might see where the cap might be, ‘I might just wait it out and see what happens.'”
- Hope Smoke: Dreger: “I see the Blues going all in for a goalie like Miller at the trade deadline. They ordained Halak the #1 but that’s just mind games.”
- Brett Cyrgalis of the NY Post: Source said that GM Garth Snow does not perceive that head coach Jack Capuano is the problem with the Islanders and won’t be fired any time soon.
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger: “Islander management does not believe that coaching has anything to do with their struggles this season” … “Like most GM’s Snow is eager to make a change. He’s looking for a top 2-3 defenseman. Not easy to get those pieces”