On the Dallas Stars …
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: (mailbag) Think that Stars GM Jim Nill will use both Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen next season, but will be looking for a good deal. If there is an expansion draft next year, there will be several goalies available before the trade deadline.
If the Stars look for a young goalie on the trade market, best choices would one of Frederik Andersen or John Gibson.
Nill has said he won’t buy out Niemi or Lehtonen. The Stars may prefer to trade Lehtonen, and they would have to retain some salary.
On the Edmonton Oilers …
Bob Stauffer: Don’t see the Oilers in the mix for right handed defensemen Justin Faulk (don’t think he’s available) and Kevin Shattenkirk (will likely be sent to the Eastern Conference if moved).
On the Minnesota Wild …
The Fourth Period: The Wild are expecting to get some interest in defenseman Jonas Brodin this offseason, as they did so before the trade deadline. They weren’t shopping him, but teams were calling. The Oilers, Red Wings and Flyers have shown interest at some point. The Wild have previously been linked to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
On the Chicago Blackhawks …
Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times: (mailbag) Still think it’s possible the Blackhawks will try to bring the 36-year old Brian Campbell back if he wants another run at the Cup. He could get $3 to $4 million on the open market, but the Blackhawks may only want to pay a $1 million.
Don’t see the Blackhawks having any interest in Brad Richards.
Andrew Ladd won’t be back. Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann likely won’t get contracts. Would be a shock if Richard Panik isn’t re-signed.
The Blackhawks have been trying to trade Bryan Bickell for over a year and a half, but nobody wants his contract. They could package Teuvo Teravainen with Bickell to move his contract, but that would be a mistake. Best option may be to buy him out a $1 million cap hit next year and $1.5 million in 2017-18.
Nothing new to report on an Andrew Shaw contract.