The Dallas Stars could eye an Islanders forward with their LTIR cap space
TSN: The Dallas Stars will be without forward Tyler Seguin for the next four to six months unless that gets altered by doctors after the surgery he had yesterday according to Pierre LeBrun.
If he’s not able to return by the end of the regular season, his $9.8 million cap hit will remain in the LTIR and will give the Stars GM Jim Nill plenty of salary cap space to work with at the trade deadline. For now, they will fill the void internally, but they’ll be exploring their options for the deadline. Brock Nelson could be a target and they won’t be the only Western Conference team with interest.
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“Keep an eye on Brock Nelson, pending UFA for the New York Islanders. Going to be a lot of interest in that guy, including from the Minnesota Wild by the way. I think Minnesota is keeping an eye on Brock Nelson as well.
The thing is, the Islanders are back in a playoff chase, he’s not going to be available and GM Lou Lamiorello doesn’t always trade his UFAs anyway. So it’s not clear if Brock Nelson would even be on the move but he would be a name of note.”
NHL Network: Elliotte Friedman on the Dallas Stars leading up to the trade deadline.
Friedman: “I think that what a lot of teams are expecting is the Dallas Stars are going to gear up. That they are going to look to add and see, can we maneuver this like other teams have, that we can add and then bring back Seguin in time for the playoffs.”
Host: “Man, I’m sure Stars fans would love to see that all unfold and say you come back just in time for a deep run in the postseason.”
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The Columbus Blue Jackets and Mathieu Olivier talking extension
TSN: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier is a pending free agent. GM Don Waddell knows his value to the team and the sides have begun extension talks.
“They don’t want him going anywhere, so there shouldn’t be any trade speculation around this and I know that Waddell and Olivier’s agent Philippe Lecavalier have already engaged in preliminary contract extension talks.”