- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Flyers are ready to make some moves, but GM Ron Hextall needs to find a trade partner. He was one of the more aggressive GMs looking to make moves at the GM meetings last week. They tried to move Vinny Lecavalier in the summer and he’s likely still available.
The Oilers could be one of the teams looking for a goalie. The Wild would like to trade Josh Harding, but there may not be any takers for him. Teams could look at Cam Ward, Jakob Markstrom and Peter Budaj. The Coyotes are not looking to move Mike Smith.
You would have to think the Oilers will make some changes soon. Many think the coach Dallas Eakins could become the fall guy, with assistant Craig Ramsay potentially the top replacement option.
The Sharks may not be done dealing as GM Doug Wilson may be trying to save his job. They are shopping Adam Burish (on waivers – another year left at $1.85 million) and Tyler Kennedy (last year of deal – $2.35 million). Some think that they want to free up some money for a larger deal.
- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: Hurricanes Andrej Sekera will be the most sought-after defenseman during free agency this offseason. The big contracts of Eric Staal, Alex Semin, Cam Ward and Jordan Staal don’t leave GM Ron Francis a lot of room to re-sign Sekera. A trade of Sekera is a likely scenario.
- Elliotte Friedman: Hearing that NHL COO John Collins has withdrawn his name from consideration for MSLE job. Canucks Dan Hamhuis is still having tests done and no news is official yet, but it’s sounding like the injury is serious.
- Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet: Daniem Cox and Elliotte Friedman said that the Oilers are desperate to make a trade, but other GMs are under the impression that they don’t want to deal any of their young core. They could use an upgrade on the blueline. It will be hard for them to make a substantial upgrade without including any of their core players or a high draft pick.
