David Backes getting interest?
Andy Strickland: Have been told that there have been some teams that have shown interest in Boston Bruins forward David Backes.
Many of those teams are on his no-trade list. Backes has already submitted his eight-team trade list to the Bruins. This offseason his list increases to 15 teams.
The Bruins are keeping him off the ice so he doesn’t get injured.
A potential landing spot for Joe Thornton?
Kevin Kurz: (commenting on Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is out indefinitely): “Just thinking out loud here, but could this now be a potential Joe Thornton landing spot? He has family in Colorado, too…”
Wild players better not quit before the NHL trade deadline
TSN: Minnesota GM Bill Guerin expects his team to continue to push for the playoffs even after they traded winger Jason Zucker. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some changes if some give up on the season.
“I can promise you this: If there is quit, there will be more trades,” Guerin said. “So I wholeheartedly expect this team to compete for a playoff spot. We’re right there, and if there’s any signs of anybody taking their foot off the gas, that will be an indication.”
Guerin on if there could be more moves for the Wild before the deadline.
“I have to plan for anything. If a deal makes sense, whether it’s for futures or whether it’s for right now, if it’s going to help us either way, we’re going to have to weigh the pros and cons of going either direction,” Guerin said. “I felt that this deal did a little bit of both. It set us up for the future, and we got help for right now, too.”
Wild listening to offers for two defensemen
TSN: Darren Dreger said that Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin is still willing to listen to trade offers for defensemen Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin. The Wild could use help down the middle.
“Not the expected return for either one of those defenceman is a top line centre. And if the best offer is a No. 2 centre, then it has to be with something else. A No. 2 plus.”
Mikko Koivu is a pending UFA and sources are saying that he wants to stay in Minnesota and Guerin will respect that.