On the Chicago Blackhawks …
Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times: Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is out indefinitely. Sources have said he has vertigo-like symptoms, and he could miss the rest of the season, but that hasn’t been confirmed by the team.
The Blackhawks could look at the rental market before the trade deadline. They could put Crawford on the LTIR if need be to create more cap space.
Potential options could be Robin Lehner (BUF), Petr Mrazek (DET), Jaroslav Halak (NYI) and Antti Raanta (ARI).
The Blackhawks don’t have a lot of assets to move. They don’t have a second- and fourth-round pick. Michal Kempny could be an option. Vinnie Hinostroza has been playing well of late, so he may no longer be a trade chip.
The Blackhawks could also use another top-four defenseman. Potential top-four defensemen that might become available include Jacob Trouba (WPG), Mike Green (DET), and Ian Cole (PIT).
Rory Boylen of Sportsnet: Potential goaltending options for the Chicago Blackhawks: Robin Lehner (BUF), Antti Raanta (ARI), Petr Mrazek/Jimmy Howard (DET), and Calvin Pickard/Garret Sparks (TOR).
On the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens…
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger on TSN last night talking about the Montreal Canadiens and their need for a center and if they go all-in for John Tavares is he goes to the open market.
“You have no choice,” agreed Dreger. “It’s a pipe dream, I agree with you. I’m still in the camp that believes that John Tavares and the New York Islanders are going to find that middle ground and he’ll stay and finish his career quite possibly with the New York Islanders. But in Tavares you have to be all-in if you’re the Montreal Canadiens. You’re so desperate up the middle of the ice.
“I had an NHL executive tell me earlier this week that he believes that someone, if Tavares goes to market, is going to offer a seven-year term and $15 million per. 7 X 15.
“Well if you’re the Montreal Canadiens with $9 million in cap space right now and that’s going to grow in the off-season. If he hits the market, you need to be one of those teams ready to pony up that kind of dough.”