- Jim Matheson: Lots of people think that Thomas Vanek may take a pay-cut and sign with the Wild in the summer. He went to school in Minnesota and is good friends with Jason Pominville.
Nathan MacKinnon is living J.S. Giguere’s basement.
The Bruins tried to get Alex Chaisson included in the Loui Eriksson–Tyler Seguin trade. The Stars sent Rielly Smith and Matt Fraser instead.
With the strong play of Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, Simon Despres may now be used as trade bait.
The Ducks need a defenseman with Sheldon Souray and Luca Sbisa out. The Leafs are looking to move John-Michael Liles, the Flyers have Andrej Meszros and the Penguins have Despres.
The Penguins will look for a backup goalie.
- Elliotte Friedman of CBC: Filip Kuba is still hoping to get an NHL deal.
Mark Messier will be re-joining that Oilers as a consultant.
Before Cory Schneider was sent to the Devils, one rumored deal was to the Oilers for their 1st and 2nd round picks, as well as Martin Marincin. Big asking price but would be trading a goalie within their division.
There has been some talk between the Maple Leafs and some teams about Jake Gardiner. If the Leafs are going to consider trading Gardiner, it would be for a young asset or assets. Friedman speculates that teams like the Stars, Panthers and Wild might be interested. Gardiner was impressive during the Boston series last year, but some scouts still have questions.
Word is the Ducks received four serious offers for Bobby Ryan. A couple reasons as to why he landed in Ottawa are that the Senators didn’t need to send salary back and that the Ducks wanted a 1st round pick included.
If Ilya Bryzgalov signed in the KHL, he’d have to clear waivers if he returned to the NHL.
- Frank Seravlli of the Philadelphia Daily News: The Flyers have been “sniffing around” but may have trouble finding a partner this early in the season. The Flyers have been looking at Curtis Glencross. The Flames are desperate for someone to play with Mark Giordano, and the Flyers have a bunch of high-priced defensemen. Glencross has a no-trade clause. The Flyers scouted the Flames last week, Ron Hextall (assistant GM) and Chris Pryor (director of scouting) attended. Dave Brown (head pro scout) watched the Flames in Columbus. The Flames scouted the Flyers home opener last week. The Flyers also had a scout at the Flames home opener. The Flames had a scout watching the Flyers and Hurricanes. The Flyers may also be interested in Sven Baertschi.
- Bob McKenzie on NHL Live: Flyers coaching change, Holmgren’s future and the spin-o-rama.