Sabres looking for a scorer
David Pagnotta: There has been lots of trade talk around the Buffalo Sabres, who are trying to find a top-six scoring forward.
No takers for Johnson
Jesse Marshall: The Pittsburgh Penguins putting Jack Johnson on waivers for the purpose of buying out means the Penguins couldn’t find anyone to take Johnson in any kind of trade. It is not really surprising.
Coyotes GM on the Draft, Grabner, Ekman-Larsson and Hall
Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider: Arizona Coyotes newly name GM Bill Armstrong is not taking part in their draft as part of the agreement with the St. Louis Blues. The Coyotes don’t pick until the fourth round, but if Armstrong acquires a pick in a trade, he’ll just pass them along to associate director of amateur scouting Ryan Jankowski who is handling the draft.
The Coyotes bought out the final year of Michael Grabner‘s contract instead of holding on to him and trying to trade him for a draft pick at the deadline.
“You have a good feel of what the worth is when you try to trade someone and talk to the other NHL GMs,” Armstrong said. “With this particular asset that we had, it was just a business decision. There’s so many moving pieces right now, but that was one thing that came back again and again. Unfortunately, that was the decision we had to make. It’s always a tough decision and that was one of them.”
Grabner could look to take a smaller deal with a contender to play in their bottom-six and be a little more selective to where he wants to play.
Armstrong on Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade talks.
“I think I can answer in a broad perspective,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to make moves that are the best moves for the organization at all times. That’s why they hired me. They’re not easy moves. There’s some really tough stuff, but every move that we make is going to be for the betterment of this organization and push ahead. We’re going to explore every option.”
It is highly unlikely that pending UFA forward Taylor Hall will be back with the Coyotes next season. The Coyotes appear to be rebuilding again and Hall wants to win. Armstrong has left it be known that he’s open to trading Hall’s rights for a pick.