- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The gap between Ryan Callahan and the Rangers remains big. Callahan is still asking for seven years at more than $6.5 million per season. The Rangers are offering five years and $6 million per season. The Rangers may be willing to add another year to close the deal. If Callahan continues to insist on seven years, they could trade him. If the Rangers sweeten the pot, there is a Martin St. Louis deal that could be there.
- Dan Rosen: Rosen thinks Ryan Callahan will get traded, and it will be a mistake if they do.
- Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet: Brian Lawton said that Martin St. Louis asked to be traded to the Rangers in 2009.
“I can tell you when I was in Tampa there was time in 2009 right before the trade deadline when (St. Louis) was waiting in my office for me,” Lawton said. “He told me he was not happy with the way things were going and would like to be traded to one team – the New York Rangers.”
Back in 2009, Lawton thought there might have been some tampering going on.
“I had my suspicions at the time that some of the people that were from Tampa Bay prior and then working for the Rangers were contacting (St. Louis) about the possibility of coming to play there,” said Lawton. “Our team was not doing well at that time. I immediately felt that was the issue. I made a couple of phone calls and had a couple of meetings with Marty about how important he is to the organization and eventually everything worked out rather quickly.”
- Michael Russo of the Star Tribune: There are rumors that the Sabres will try to send Jaroslav Halak to the Wild. The Wild have inquired about Cam Ward and Martin Brodeur. The Oilers have offered Ilya Bryzgalov to the Wild. Panthers Tim Thomas is a pending UFA.
- David Pagnotta: “With all the Seattle buzz lately, Quebec City chatter has been fairly quiet… But I can tell you this the NHL is in talks with Quebecor, who wants to bring a team back to QC, and is building their new arena, operational Sept 2015. A deal is far from done, but return of the Nordiques is going to happen. Just a matter of when. Quebecor’s goal is obviously 2015-16 season. NHL has zero plans to relocate any of its franchises… If/when Quebec City (and/or Seattle) gets a team, it’s by way of expansion.”
- Chris Botta: The Islanders haven’t received a strong offer for Thomas Vanek yet. They eventually will get one, but it might have if played better.