Hard to see the Sabres moving Ristolainen now
Mike Harrington: Have to think with the injuries to defensemen Zach Bogosian and Lawrence Pilut to start the season, it’s hard to see Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill seriously thinking about trading Rasmus Ristolainen.
Slovakian getting some interest
Darren Dreger: Slovakian forward Robert Lantosi is getting some interest from NHL teams.
The Canucks could opt to not qualify Hutton
Satiar Shah: Teams are not able to walk away from salary arbitration awards if they are under $4.39 million. The Vancouver Canucks may not be interested in going through salary arbitration with Carter Hutton because of that. There is a chance that if they can’t trade or sign him to an extension, they could not qualify him.
Canucks leaning to re-signing Goldobin
Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: The Vancouver Canucks made winger and restricted free agent Nikolay Goldobin a healthy scratch 19 times last season.
His agent quieted rumors last month that he wasn’t planning on leaving the NHL for the KHL.
He doesn’t really have any contract leverage with the Canucks
“He’s still part of our team and we continue to have those discussions,” Benning said Monday. “We’ve been patient with him so far. We’re leaning toward getting him signed, developing him and getting him to a level he’s capable of.”
Goldobin could be used as trade bait, but it would likely be in a swap for another struggling young player. They are looking at signing him to an extension, and a sign-and-trade is possible.
Any Kessel trade must meet two criteria
Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Post-Tribune: The Pittsburgh Penguins are deciding on the fate of winger Phil Kessel. They like his offense but coaches haven’t always enjoyed the defensive side of his game.
He has put up over a point-a-game over the past two years.
If the Penguins were to trade Kessel and his $6.8 million salary cap hit, any move would must bring back a return that would make them better away from the puck and one that would add to their second line.
It’s not an impossible trade make, but it may not easy.