On the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs …
The Fourth Period: Avs defenseman Tyson Barrie is out until early-to-mid February with a broken hand, and his future with the team has been speculated for a while. He has two years left a $5.5 million salary cap hit.
The Maple Leafs were close to trading for Barrie this past offseason, but trade talks have died down during the season.
The Avs may not be eager to move Barrie at this time, but if the Leafs or another team call, GM Joe Sakic would listen.
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post noted that Barrie’s future with the team could partially be determined by the prospects Conor Timmins or Cale Maker. If either is ready next year, they could look to move Barrie.
Matt Larkin of The Hockey News: (mailbag) If the Avs are going to trade Barrie, it would be more of an offseason deal as they still need him this season. If/when they do look to move him, it should be for a forward of similar age and salary – ie. Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Islanders Brock Nelson.
On the Buffalo Sabres …
TSN: Darren Dreger on TSN 1260 radio recently when asked if the Sabres would consider holding on to forward Evander Kane if they don’t get the price they want before the trade deadline.
“No, no, no. They’ll move him,” Dreger told TSN Radio Edmonton 1260. “You’re not going to receive if you don’t ask. So I think it’s dependent on the team that Jason Botterill is dealing with. If he looks at a roster and sees that this club is deep enough to give more than the two, three assets that is realistic, why wouldn’t you ask for it. And so there are teams who have told me that he wants a first, a roster player, a prospect, and potentially a conditional draft pick if that teams signs Evander Kane. There are other teams who say from them he’s asked for a prospect, a first-round pick, and that conditional pick if he signs.
“So the ask is a moving target, but I suspect that Botterill will start to dial down a little bit more as we creep closer to the first of February. And he’s open for business now, who’s kidding who. I mean, if Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins step up because they feel that they need the influence of Evander Kane now and are willing to pay whatever the price is of the Buffalo Sabres, then there’s no question that Botterill would make that deal.
“It’s a bit of a moving target, but he should be at the top of the board because he’s a coveted player. But when I reported on Tuesday that for some teams it was as many as four pieces, two or three clubs reached back to me and said, ‘Forget it. We’re not doing that.’ So we’ll see if it happens.”