- Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile still thinks he has the team to make a push and is “exercising patience.”
“If we could improve the team by trade, I would be happy to do that. On the flip side of that, there are some guys who have not quite performed to how I think they can perform,” Poile said on Friday. “I think we’re exercising patience on that and hope and believe that they can help us win some more games.”
Poile won’t make any decisions on Barry Trotz after their 5 game losing streak.
“We’ve been together for 15 years. We’ve been through situations like this,” Poile said of Trotz. “It’s never comfortable. I guess it comes with the territory when you get picked on at every level in terms of saying, ‘Would it be time for a change’ or what have you.”
- David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News: The rising salary cap to potentially $71 million, will definitely help Sharks GM Doug Wilson’s attempt to re-sign Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle. Thornton’s agent and brother:
“I don’t think it impacts us, but it makes it easier on Doug and on the team to get all three done,” John Thornton said.
They hope to have a deal done before Thornton’s deal expires, but they’re unsure when it could get done.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “From our standpoint, I think Doug is trying to get all three done, so it’s just a different circumstance.”
Dan Boyle’s agent, George Bazos:
“We expect at some point they’ll try to get everybody done, but at this point we’re just kind of waiting and hoping they win a lot of games,” Bazos said. “We kicked around some ideas. You know, it depends on the number of years, a lot of moving parts. I wouldn’t say we have a real number. We haven’t gotten that far.”
- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie: “Nonis is certainly not in blow it up mode. If the right deal comes along for a player like Gardiner they’ll make a deal.”
- Hope Smoke: McKenzie: “My guess is the Leafs are going to try and sign Bolland to a new contract. Maybe even before he returns from injury”
- Darrell Romuld (CTV): A reliable source said that Joe Nieuwendyk has said “no” to being the Flames next GM.
- Pierre LeBrun: Bruins coach Claude Julien was at the Oilers-Canucks game, scouting for Bruins and Team Canada.
- Mike Harrington: “So the scuttle after I left Rochester is that Nolan was suitably impressed that Ellis will be with #Sabres today. Which means either Hodgson is more seriously hurt than they let on or there’s a different move coming.”