Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: 30 Thoughts roundup.
Even if the Colorado Avalanche continue to win, it’s still unlikely that Matt Duchene stays. still thinks he wants a fresh start. They might be now looking at non-NHL prospects, focusing on left-handed defensemen. GM Joe Sakic was in Nashville to watch the Preds-Avs, with other teams thinking he was scouting the Preds.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and pending free agent defenseman Jack Johnson have held some contract extension talks, but may not be close to anything.
The Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders do make sense as trade partners. The Islanders want to win now, and they do have depth on the blue line. Ryan Pulock hasn’t played a game yet.
Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart‘s came up last weekend. It may be too early for the Sabres to move him, but keep an eye open for later in the year.
The Vegas Golden Knights may be looking to move a left-handed defenseman. All three of their healthy scratches on Tuesday were left-handed – Jason Garrison, Brayden McNabb, and Griffin Reinhart. Luca Sbisa is a lefty as well and has four assists in six games.
Team Canada will likely ask Jarome Iginla next week if he wants to play in the Karjala Cup in Finland next month. Hard to see Iginla going to the Olympics if he doesn’t go to Finland.
The Edmonton Oilers have said they’d be interested in going to China next pre-season. The Oilers are one of the teams that have an uncertain preseason schedule for next year.
Gary Bettman has said that expansion is not on the front-burner at the moment, but when someone who just spent $2.2 billion on the Houston Rockets says they are interested in an NHL team, you have to pay attention. Houston is the fourth largest television market in the United States.